COLUMBUS, Ohio) — A former Columbus doctor was sentenced this morning to 24 months in prison for fraudulently billing $1.5 million to Medicaid, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced.
“This ex-physician went from healing to stealing and earned himself a stiff dose of justice,” Yost said. “Great work by our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to hold him accountable.”
The sentencing of Robert Florea, 49, follows his October 2024 conviction on one count of Medicaid fraud, a third-degree felony. Florea’s clinic, Buckeye Health and Research, was found guilty of the same charge.
Besides the prison sentence, Florea and Buckeye Health and Research must pay $1.5 million in restitution and court costs. The clinic is no longer in operation.
Investigators with Yost’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that Florea, through his clinic at 65 Highview Blvd. in Columbus, billed the Ohio Department of Medicaid for medical equipment – including braces for joints and back pain – that he never purchased. Florea claimed reimbursement for more than 5,100 pieces of equipment over a three-year period, but records show he bought only 460 of the items. The fraudulent claims caused a $1.5 million loss to the Medicaid program.
Florea permanently surrendered his medical license at the start of the year.
The Health Care Fraud Section of the Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
The Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $15,343,488 for federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25% – totaling $5,114,493 for FY 2025 – is funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
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