Follow-Up: New York Doctor Charged in $6.8 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme for Signing Pre-Filled Orthotic Brace Prescriptions
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on November 12 that a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment on Tuesday charging Dr. Edgard Salazar, 57, of Armonk, in Westchester County, New York, in a Medicare fraud scheme. Salazar is accused of billing Medicare for thousands of consultations that never occurred and for orthotic braces that Medicare patients did not want or need, with more than $6.8 million in false and fraudulent claims allegedly submitted.
According to court documents, telemedicine company TelevisitMD allegedly had Salazar sign pre-filled prescriptions for Medicare beneficiaries who did not need the orthotic braces ordered in the prescriptions. Salazar did not examine or treat the beneficiaries and often did not speak to them at all. At times when he did speak to them, the beneficiaries told him they did not want or need orthotic braces, and he signed the prescriptions anyway. He also allegedly billed Medicare for telemedicine consultations he never performed.
Christopher Harwood, who owned and operated TelevisitMD, pleaded guilty in March 2026 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and agreed to pay $17.9 million in restitution. Last month, Harwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. The charge against Salazar is a follow-up indictment in the same fraud scheme.
Salazar is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), made the announcement. The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section is prosecuting it.
The Department of Justice said an indictment is merely an allegation, and Salazar is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国司法部本部大楼入口特写，石墙上刻有 DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 字样。G. Edward Johnson 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Image: Close-up of the entrance to the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters, with DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE carved in stone. Photo by G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-12Follow-Up: New York Doctor Charged in $6.8 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme for Signing Pre-Filled Orthotic Brace PrescriptionsThis story
