VERO BEACH — A Vero Beach surgeon has agreed to pay a $4 million settlement in a Medicare claim case, according to a U.S. attorney’s office release.
The release said Donald Proctor Jr. of Grove Place Surgery Center in Vero Beach agreed to the settlement to resolve allegations he violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for Mohs surgeries and other surgical procedures that “Dr. Proctor either did not perform or were medically unnecessary.”
The settlement was negotiated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Torres. The release said “the claims asserted against Dr. Proctor and Grove Place Surgery Center are merely allegations. There has been no determination of liability in this matter.”
Proctor as part of the settlement will also be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid and all federally funded health care programs for at least five years, the release said.
The allegations were initially made in a whistleblower lawsuit failed by Ferdinand Becker, a facial plastic surgeon who referred patients to Proctor’s office, and Linda Wildes, who worked for eight years under Proctor. Becker and Wildes will receive $920,000 as part of the settlement, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Proctor was not immediately available for comment.
