Chicago dermatologist convicted of health care fraud

A Chicago dermatologist was convicted of health care fraud for billing health insurance programs for falsely reported pre-cancerous treatments.

Omeed Memar, a 48-year-old Chicago resident, was convicted Wednesday of eight counts of health care fraud and eight counts of making false statements in a health care matter, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Memar submitted false claims to health insurers from 2007 to 2013, prosecutors said.

He would bill cosmetic treatments fraudulently as necessary treatments for actinic keratosis, pre-cancerous lesions that he knew many patients did not actually have, and then documented the false claims by including false diagnoses of actinic keratosis in his patients’ charts, prosecutors said.

Records showed patients were apparently diagnosed with keratosis lesions and given intense-pulse light treatments, and Memar billed them as costly treatments for pre-cancerous lesions, prosecutors said.

Numerous patients later testified that Memar told them they were getting treated for different things, and three former employees testified about the scheme, prosecutors said.

Memar could face up to 120 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 28.