Podiatrist indicted in $480K health-care fraud

A Philadelphia-area podiatrist has been indicted for allegedly bilking Medicare by submitting $480,000 in fraudulent claims over a five-year period.

Federal prosecutors said 55-year-old Dr. Aileen Gong, of King of Prussia, is facing charges of health-care fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Between 2009 and February, she submitted at least $480,000 in false claims to Medicare, according to prosecutors. Those claims include patient visits that never occurred and procedures she didn't perform for patients who did visit her Chinatown office.

As a result of the fraudulent claims, the indictment says, she "obtained at least $300,000 in payments from Medicare."

Some of Gong's Medicare claims were for procedures that supposedly took place while she was traveling outside the United States, according to the indictment, which was filed in federal court in Philadelphia.

She could face up to 184 years in prison and a fine of $3.5 million if convicted of all charges.