An Ohio doctor who used her electronic signature to authorize nearly $2 million in bogus medical bills has been sentenced for her role in a telemedicine healthcare fraud scheme.
Muna Orra, a 42-year-old physician from Westlake, was sentenced to five years probation by United States District Judge John R. Adams. She was also required to pay $997,641 in restitution to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Orra already pleaded guilty in January to making false statements about health care issues.
According to court filings, Orra exploited her medical license by approving orders for durable medical equipment (mostly braces) and genetic tests. Investigators discovered that the patients did not require the equipment or tests she authorized.
From February 2018 until September 2021, Orra worked as an independent contractor for a Georgia-based telemedicine startup. The company sent her patient files, which already included exam notes, recommended treatment plans, and written orders. Orra was meant to go over the papers and electronically approve the orders. The telemedicine company subsequently billed Medicare for her approved orders, citing her signature as proof that the items were medically essential.
However, an examination revealed that Orra was not thoroughly scrutinizing the health records to determine whether the directives were genuinely reasonable. She also avoided compulsory in-person assessments, despite signing documentation claiming to have completed them. Investigators discovered that Orra routinely opened a patient’s computer file and signed the medical order in a matter of seconds.
Orra’s signatures resulted in Medicare being billed $1,749,051 for needless braces and $93,473 for unnecessary genetic testing. Medicare paid $933,452 for braces and $64,189 for tests as a result of these bogus billing. Medicare is a federal program that primarily provides health benefits to persons aged 65 and older.
The indictment comes amid a broader government effort to combat healthcare scams. On April 7, the Department of Justice established the National Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and punish theft of federal funds. This work directly supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which is a whole-of-government campaign led by Vice President J.D. Vance to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in federal benefit programs.
The FBI’s Cleveland Division and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General both looked into the case against Orra. Erica Barnhill, Assistant United States Attorney, lead the prosecution.
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