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Prison Term for 'Rock Doc'

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Wall Street Journal-Alexia Fodere
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Miami’s so-called 'Rock Doc' apologized for his involvement in a Medicare scheme on Friday, but that didn’t stop a federal judge from sending him to prison for six years, the Miami Herald reports.

Osteopath Christopher Gregory Wayne said he pleaded guilty in February to defrauding the government and for prescribing unlawful painkillers because he unknowingly was violating a Medicare rule change that required his employees to be licensed physical therapists, the Herald reports.

Wayne, 54, was dubbed the “Rock Doc” for his spiky blond hair. On Friday, he arrived in court sporting a gray ponytail.

In an unrelated case, patients of Spring Hill dentist Miranda Smith are struggling with red tape related to her recent arrest on Medicaid fraud charges.

Hudson resident James Reynolds, 72, is one of dozens of patients who complained of poor dental work by Smith. She recommended and pulled all his teeth and provided him with ill-fitting dentures, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The senior who lives only on Social Security income says his health plan initially said it wouldn’t help pay for a new set of dentures, according to the Times. He’s been eating only soft foods in the meantime.

The Times reports that Smith’s license had been suspended and her practice closed, in relation to the Medicaid fraud charges. However, her license has been reinstated and her husband said the practice is back in operation, the Times reports. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.