Former Panama City Doctor Agrees To $550,000 Consent Judgment To Resolve FCA and CSA Lawsuit

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Dr. Mustafa A. Hammad, M.D., a neurologist and pain management physician who formerly practiced medicine at the NeuroMedical Institute (“NMI”) in Panama City, Florida, entered into a consent judgment and settlement agreement to resolve a pending lawsuit filed by the United States pursuant to the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act. The judgment and settlement were announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

“This lawsuit and resolution demonstrate our resolve to hold physicians accountable for the blatant fraudulent billing of our federal health care programs,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “Together, with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to defend the fiscal integrity of federal healthcare programs. This agreement results in the return of fraud proceeds to the American taxpayers and through the surrender of his DEA registration, ensures the defendant’s fraudulent billing practices have come to an end.”

In March 2023, the United States filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida alleging numerous violations under the FCA and CSA. See United States v. Mustafa A. Hammad, M.D., Case No. 5:23-cv-00063-TKW-MJF. The lawsuit alleged that Hammad established medical centers in Palestine and Israel in approximately 2017 and has resided outside the United States since approximately September 2019. The United States alleged that Hammad conducted and interpreted approximately 582 sleep studies while he was physically located outside the United States and thereafter billed the Medicare and Medicaid programs for such services in violation of the FCA. The United States also alleged that Hammad issued multiple prescriptions on dates he was physically outside the United States in violation of the CSA.  Finally, the United States alleged that Hammad also billed the Government for approximately 4,787 additional services allegedly performed at NMI while he was physically outside the United States in violation of the FCA.

To resolve the pending litigation, Hammad agreed to the following, among others: (1) a consent judgment in the amount of $550,000; (2) the United States’ sale of Hammad’s real property in Panama City; (3) not contest a forfeiture judgment entered against Hammad in the amount of $506,017.40 in United States v. $42,924.20, et al., Case. No. 5:22-cv-00065-TKW-MJF; and (4) to not reapply for a DEA registration.  

“Doctors, like Hammad, who falsify prescriptions and medical records increase the likelihood of prescription misuse and abuse,” said Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “This consent judgement demonstrates our resolve to hold those accountable who misuse their DEA Registration.”

“Physicians who participate in federal health care programs must follow the law when billing federally funded health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid,” said Stephen Mahmood, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG is committed to protecting the integrity of these taxpayer-funded programs and the people they serve. Working closely with the United States Attorney’s Office and our other law enforcement partners, we will continue to thoroughly investigate such fraudulent billing schemes.”

This civil settlement agreement is not an admission of any liability by Dr. Hammad, nor a concession by the United States that its claims were not well-founded. 

Assistant United States Attorneys Mary Ann Couch, Marie Moyle, Katherine Kerwin, Kaitlin Weiss, and Andrew Grogan represented the United States in this matter and related forfeiture action, which was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (Diversion Control Program), Bay County Sherriff’s Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and United States Department of Health and Human Services. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.