Dentist gets prison for illegal prescriptions, Medicare fraud

A dentist in Missouri was sentenced to 18 months in prison for making false statements to Medicare and illegally issuing prescriptions for narcotic opioid drugs without a legitimate medical purpose.

Bradley Seyer, DDS, of Florissant, provided about 14,000 doses of antianxiety and opioids to a woman who he had a personal relationship with for more than 10 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. The woman had a mental illness and eventually committed suicide. He also committed Medicare fraud by writing prescriptions for the woman's father and sought reimbursements from the federal healthcare program though the man was never one of his dental patients.

Dr. Seyer had previously pleaded guilty in June 2019 to the two felony charges, and he was sentenced on February 5 to 18 months of prison and was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) "will utilize all the enforcement tools we have against medical professionals who knowingly and willfully prescribe opioid prescriptions improperly," said William Callahan, a special agent in charge of the DEA's St. Louis Division, in a statement.

The 53-year-old dentist provided a hydrocodone prescription to the woman with whom he maintained a 10-year relationship. During their time together, Dr. Seyer gave the woman money and jewelry, took her on vacations, and prescribed her with about 14,000 units of multiple types of antianxiety and opioid drugs, according to the attorney's office.

The dentist prepared and kept some dental records for her, but they were incomplete and didn't include all exams performed or the prescriptions he wrote for her. The woman often requested prescription drugs via text, and then the dentist would write them for her, according to his plea agreement.

Dr. Seyer also admitted that he and the woman used prescription and "street" drugs recreationally.

In the summer of 2018, the woman, who had a history of mental illness, was depressed and told him she had suicidal thoughts. In July 2018, the woman died from a fentanyl overdose at her home. Dr. Seyer didn't prescribe the fentanyl, according to the release.

In 2015, Dr. Seyer admitted to prescribing tramadol to the woman's father, who had Medicare coverage. However, the dentist had no records showing he performed any dental work on him.

Dr. Seyer wrote five prescriptions for the woman using her father's name and Medicare paid for them, according to the attorney's office.