A Lorain County doctor has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a healthcare billing conspiracy scheme that intended to fraudulently bill Medicare for more than $14.5 million.
According to an announcement from the Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge David A. Ruiz sentenced Timothy Sutton to 64 months (5 years and 4 months) in prison. He was also ordered to serve three years on supervised release and pay roughly $6 million in restitution to the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
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Sutton, 44, pleaded guilty in April 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, false statements regarding health care problems, and aggravated identity theft.
“Mr. Sutton deliberately lied about performing patient examinations and then used his role as a trusted medical professional to line his pockets at the expense of taxpayers. We will not tolerate those who utilize their positions of authority to defraud Medicare, or any government agency,” said United States Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio.
According to court documents, Sutton used his position as a licensed medical doctor in Ohio to have claims submitted on behalf of patients who did not require medical treatment.
He was employed by two Florida-based telemedicine companies, which provided him with pre-completed orders for durable medical equipment (such as braces and cancer genetic testing) that he had to authorize and digitally sign. In doing so, he stated that he examined each patient utilizing a telemedicine platform and judged that they needed the equipment.
He also falsely claimed to be the treating physician for the patients whose orders for tests he had written. However, federal investigators discovered that Sutton never actually examined any of the patients.
“Violating a position of trust and abusing the privilege of serving as a healthcare provider by willfully defrauding the government and other entities for personal gain is cruel and calculating,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen. “When funds from programs like Medicare are not used as intended, taxpayers and people who are entitled to those funds suffer.”
Once Sutton prescribed medical equipment or ordered tests through the telemedicine companies that hired him, the orders were either transmitted to other medical businesses involved in the conspiracy or sold to other medical entities, according to the DOJ announcement.
The FBI Cleveland Division and the US Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General both conducted investigations into this case.
