Dr. David A. Parks, 66, and James M. Bilderback, 58, both of House Springs, along with Michelle J. Scheer, 43, of St. Louis have been accused of prescribing controlled substances and health care fraud. The three allegedly conspired together for more than five years, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office reported.
On Monday, July 8, Parks and Bilderback, who are married, were charged with conspiracy to illegally prescribe controlled substances, 13 counts of illegal prescribing of a controlled substance and 15 counts of making false statements to health care matters, according to the indictment.
Scheer was charged on the same day with conspiracy to illegally prescribe controlled substances and five counts of illegal prescribing of a controlled, court records said.
“As we continue to combat the opioid crisis, our agency remains committed to investigating those involved in fraudulent schemes exploiting controlled substances for profit,” said Linda T. Hanley, special agent in charge at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This indictment demonstrates HHS-OIG’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to protect vulnerable individuals from harm and uphold the integrity of healthcare providers.”
According to the indictment, Parks ran David A. Parks, M.D., P.C., 3960 Lindell Blvd., in St. Louis. Bilderback was the clinical manager and clinical research coordinator, and Scheer worked the front desk at the practice.
From July 6, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2021, the three conspired to prescribe controlled substances outside of the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. Patients received Schedule II controlled substance prescriptions, including hydrocodone, oxycodone and dextroamphetamine-amphetamine salts, according to the indictment.
Parks and Bilderback also conspired to defraud Medicare, Missouri Medicaid and private health insurers by billing them for claims for services that falsely and fraudulently identified Parks as the provider, including at times when Parks was out of the country, the indictment said.
The conspiracy’s goal was to maximize their patient population and their profit, according to the indictment.
The staff used pre-signed prescriptions so patients could obtain controlled substances without being evaluated or having their medical records reviewed. Bilderback or another staffer would sometimes forge Parks’ signature, the indictment said.
After prescriptions began being processed electronically in the spring 2019, Parks and Bilderback gave the cell phone used to approve prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances to staffers with no prescribing authority. Scheer used the cell phone and made unilateral prescribing decisions about prescriptions, including by changing the dosages, quantities and types of controlled substances, according to the indictment.
Parks and Bilderback billed for services at a higher rate, as if Parks had performed them, even though a nurse practitioner or sometimes Bilderback performed them. Parks also failed to properly supervise nurse practitioners, review a minimum of 10 percent of the charts documenting the nurse practitioner’s activities and failed to stay within 75 miles by road of them while they were seeing patients, the indictment said.
“Medical professionals have a duty to ensure that their patients’ health and safety are their primary concern,” said Kim Daniels, diversion program manager for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s lead for the Diversion Program in Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois. “When they abdicate this responsibility, they put lives at stake. Diverting medications for illegitimate purposes will get DEA’s attention and we’ll be relentless in pursuing medical staff to ensure the practice ends.”
The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric is prosecuting the case.