Local clinic doctor gets life sentence in deaths

A government expert witness called a doctor's treatments 'patient assault.'
CLEVELAND -- A physician whose practice included a clinic in Boardman was sentenced to life in prison under the "health-care fraud resulting in death" statute, said Gregory A. White, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
White said Dr. Jorge A. Martinez, 54, formerly of Bath, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent in the first conviction and life sentence in the country under the "health-care fraud resulting in death" statute.
Dr. Martinez was convicted by a jury in January of 56 counts of mail, wire and health-care fraud resulting in death, as well as drug distribution, White said. He said Dr. Martinez treated all patients with weekly injections and narcotic drug prescriptions during visits that lasted no more than a few minutes, then claimed thousands of dollars in insurance reimbursements per visit. He saw upward of 100 patients per day and submitted $60 million in fraudulent bills to the victims' health-care benefit programs, claiming he was performing multiple complex, epidural and nerve-blocking injections when, in fact, he performed crude versions of lower-cost, trigger-point injections, White said.
A government expert witness called the doctor's treatments "patient assault."
Financial outlay
Dr. Martinez was paid around $12 million by Medicaid, Medicare and Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and around $7 million has been recovered and is under the control of the court pending an order of restitution to the victims, White said.
By prescribing narcotics on a weekly basis, Dr. Martinez rendered his patients addicted or at least dependent on him for their weekly "fix, and controlled his patients by threatening to withhold drugs if they did not contribute to his "malpractice insurance fund" or submit to the injections, White said.
Dr. Martinez was convicted of two counts of health-care fraud resulting in death. Two individuals died from drug overdoses of OxyContin, Kadian and other drugs as the result of Martinez's practices.
Blair Scott Knight of Ravenna died of a massive drug overdose Jan. 8, 2001, the same day he was seen by Martinez.
Dr. Martinez gave Knight a prescription for OxyContin and other drugs that day.
Another patient, John Lancaster, was seen by Dr. Martinez on Sept. 5, 2001. He was given Zoloft in the office and prescriptions for five separate drugs. Lancaster became unconscious in Dr. Martinez's office. Later he was taken to a hospital, where he died of an overdose of multiple drugs.
Dr. Martinez was arrested Sept. 2, 2004, at his home, and has been detained throughout the trial and sentencing process. Because he is an alien, he is eligible to be deported when he completes his sentence.
The case was investigated by the FBI, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, and is being prosecuted by Linda M. Betzer and Virginia D. Hearey, assistant U.S. attorneys.