Practice areas: Criminal Defense, Health Care
Licensed in Michigan since: 2009
Education: Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2026 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2015 - 2023 
Free Consultation Chapman, Dowling & Mallek
456 E Milwaukee StDetroit, MI 48202 Phone: 346-242-7626 Email: Ron Chapman Visit website
Details 
150 Acquitted Federal Counts \ $550 Million Saved for Clients
“One of the most talented attorneys I have seen in my 20 years on the bench”
Federal Judge
"The largest acquittal in Detroit in the last 10 years"
Detroit Free Press
From the United States Supreme Court to Federal Districts, Ron Has Achieved Acquittal Despite Overwhelming Odds
Ron’s track record of federal trial acquittals is simply unmatched. Ron formed SHG to help health care providers avoid federal criminal scrutiny. As a result of the tireless dedication of the best health care experts in the country, Ron has prevented over $550 million in government overpayments, fines, and forfeitures.
From the War on Terror to the War on Opioids
Ron cut his teeth in Federal Investigations during the Global War on Terror for the United States Marine Corps. As a Marine Corps Officer and Lawyer, he conducted high-level federal gun, drug, and terrorism investigations. He returned home and applied his skills to the defense of healthcare providers facing federal investigations, prosecutions, and False Claims Act cases. For the last decade, Ron has racked up a list of trial acquittals, dismissals, and non-prosecutions that lead the nation.
Through the diligent presentation of his client’s case and exacting attention to detail he has earned the respect of fellow defense counsel and federal judges, one of whom commented he was the best he’s seen “in 20 years on the bench”.
Unmatched Trial Results and Acquittals in High-Profile Cases
He achieved an acquittal in a $550 million healthcare fraud and 56 count drug trafficking and healthcare fraud indictment against five physicians who were accused of distributing 13 Million doses of Oxycodone. That same year he acquitted Dr. Lesly Pompy a former Cleveland Clinic Physician accused of over $12 million in healthcare fraud and unlawful prescribing. Shortly after he achieved the dismissal of Dr. Thomas Sachy who was accused in a Federal Indictment in Georgia of killing two patients by prescribing Oxycodone. In addition, he acquitted two Kentucky physicians in separate trials against the Department of Justice’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Task Force (ARPO). Both physicians were separately charged with unlawful prescribing and healthcare fraud. Both were fully acquitted and will return to practice.
Ron is a frequent guest on national news networks including the BBC, Fox News, Newsnation and Newsmax as well as podcasts.
First Admitted: 2009, Michigan
Professional Webpage: https://www.chapman.law/firm/attorneys/ronald/
Bar / Professional Activity
- Michigan State Bar Administrative Law Section
- The Marine Corps League
- Michigan State Bar Criminal Law Section
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- United States v. Dr. D: $100 Million Dollar Wound Care Fraud Investigation DismissedDr. D was accused of providing unnecessary amniotic skin grafts which were billed to Medicare patients. The case was being prosecuted by the Department of Justice Health Care Fraud Strike Force. When Dr. D approached Ron Chapman he was offered a plea of guilty that would substantially limit his exposure to federal prison. Ron Chapman began an internal investigation by reviewing patient files, Medicare guidelines and health care fraud case law. Ron Chapman determined that Medicare regulations in the area of wound grafts was underdeveloped and that Dr. D had not violated any standards. Dr. D was also accused of receiving kickbacks from wound care graft distributors due to discounts that were routinely applied in this setting. Ron Chapman determined that this was not in fact a kickback if the discount was uniformity applied. The Government repeatedly threatened to indict the case. Believing that Dr. D would ultimately be successful at trial and having secured favorable evidence, a plea agreement was not reached. The Government then declined to pursue prosecution which resulted in the dismissal of the investigation against Dr. D. The lesson here is that sometimes the Federal Government and especially the Health Care Fraud Strike Force bluffs the strength of their case making the Defendant believe that a plea is required to limit a lifetime in jail. A diligent defense counsel who conducts a thorough investigation can see through this strategy providing the client the ability to make an informed decision., 2026
- United States v. Loey Kousa: How Ordinary Rural Medicine Defeated Nine Federal CountsOn July 19, 2023, a federal jury acquitted Dr. Loey Kousa on all nine counts, including controlled-substance distribution, health-care fraud, and false-statement charges. Dr. Loey Kousa practiced primary care in Paintsville, Kentucky, a community where access to specialists can be limited and one physician may have to address many kinds of illness. The federal case against him began not with a complaining patient, but with an undercover operation. That origin gave Ron Chapman and a clear strategic question: would the undercover visits prove drug dealing, or would they show a cautious physician gathering information before making a modest treatment decision? The government charged five controlled-substance distribution counts, two health-care fraud counts, and two false-statement counts in the Eastern District of Kentucky. The official indictment describes the government’s accusations. As with every indictment, those assertions were charges to be proved, not findings of fact. An undercover agent first visited during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021 and reported fabricated complaints. Dr. Kousa did not immediately issue the opioid prescription the operation was designed to investigate. He ordered diagnostic imaging, urine testing, and blood work; prescribed tramadol during the course of the visits; and only after multiple appointments prescribed a low dose of hydrocodone. Those details became the defense’s organizing story. Undercover cases often arrive in court edited into a prosecution sequence: agent asks, doctor prescribes, claim is submitted. A defense can change the meaning of that sequence by restoring everything between those points—the examination, testing, follow-up, escalating treatment, and information available to the physician. The issue is not whether an agent successfully obtained a prescription. It is whether the prescription, viewed in its full clinical setting, was knowingly or intentionally unauthorized. Cross-examination exposed a useful contradiction. The undercover investigator acknowledged that Dr. Kousa had performed more steps than the agent’s own operational standards required. That allowed the defense to use the government’s investigation as evidence of caution. What may have been presented as a successful “buy” could instead be understood as a series of visits in which a doctor did not rush to prescribe. The defense also confronted the danger of applying metropolitan or academic expectations to an underserved community. The firm reports that local emergency physicians, a pharmacist, and patients helped explain the realities of medical practice in the region. Their testimony supplied facts an outside expert might miss: the availability of specialists, the range of problems handled by a primary-care office, and the ways local health professionals observed Dr. Kousa’s work. Expert testimony then gave the jury a framework for evaluating those facts. Pain specialist Dr. James Murphy addressed the medical care; coding expert Sean Weiss addressed the billing allegations; and a defense investigator from Safe Harbor Group addressed the operation and the evidence. This division of labor is vital in a multi-theory case. A medical expert should not be expected to resolve billing rules, and a billing expert should not be used as a substitute for clinical judgment. Matching the right witness to the right allegation makes a complicated defense easier to understand. The government presented evidence for four days. The defense presentation lasted about two days. On July 19, 2023, the jury returned not-guilty verdicts on all nine counts. The Big Sandy News independently reported the complete acquittal and the entry of a judgment in Dr. Kousa’s favor in “Paintsville Doctor Acquitted of Nine Charges”. What can a prospective client learn from this result? First, the facts created during an undercover operation can support the defense if they are examined visit by visit. Second, criminal intent must not be inferred merely because an investigator obtained the outcome the investigation sought. Third, local medical context can be essential. A jury cannot fairly evaluate rural primary care through an abstract standard disconnected from the community in which the doctor practiced. The most reassuring feature of Kousa is also the most practical: the defense did not ask the jury to ignore the records. It made the records the center of the case. Testing, follow-up, conservative progression, community practice, and distinct expert disciplines combined to give jurors a reasoned basis for acquittal on every charge., 2023
- United States v. Kendall Hansen: Six Acquittals and the Dismissal of the Remaining Charges A federal jury acquitted Dr. Kendall Hansen on six counts in February 2024 and did not reach a verdict on two others. Prosecutors later dismissed the two unresolved charges. When federal agents search a medical practice, the accusation can quickly become larger than the medicine. Years of treatment may be compressed into prescription totals, selected patient files, and the most painful events in a practice’s history. In *United States v. Hansen*, the defense had to reverse that compression. Ron Chapman’s task was to show jurors not an ominous collection of numbers, but a physician making difficult decisions for real patients over a long career. The federal case arose after a 2019 search of Interventional Pain Specialists in Northern Kentucky. A superseding indictment charged Dr. Hansen and Dr. Michael Fletcher with conspiring to distribute controlled substances and with substantive distribution offenses. The charging document also sought forfeiture of professional licenses, registrations, and property. Those were allegations, not evidence, but they conveyed the stakes: liberty, livelihood, reputation, and the future of a medical practice were all in jeopardy. The official superseding indictment identifies the eight counts brought against Dr. Hansen. The government’s presentation reportedly reached beyond the prescriptions identified in the counts. It used patient deaths to give the prescribing evidence emotional force. That created a central defense problem: a death after treatment can be deeply affecting without proving that a physician knowingly issued an unauthorized prescription. Several deaths lacked an autopsy or complete scene investigation. Cross-examination therefore focused on the limits of causation evidence and on other facts that could explain what happened. That approach illustrates an important defense principle. The answer to a powerful accusation is not always a competing speech. It is often a disciplined audit of its foundation. Was there an autopsy? Was the scene investigated? What substances were present? What did family members or investigators know? Did the expert apply a medical standard found in an authoritative source, or a personal standard created for litigation? By moving one step at a time, the defense could separate suspicion from proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Ron Chapman also challenged the government expert’s conception of pain practice. The defense account says cross-examination compared the expert’s expectations with published interventional-pain guidance and exposed demands that did not reflect ordinary clinical reality. That matters because a criminal trial is not a referendum on whether another doctor would have practiced differently. After the Supreme Court’s decision in Ruan v. United States, the decisive question for an authorized prescriber is whether the government proved knowing or intentional unauthorized conduct. The defense did more than criticize. Long-serving employees described how the practice actually operated. Patients and community witnesses gave the jury context for Dr. Hansen’s work. Most important, the defense called pain specialist Dr. James Patrick Murphy, who reviewed 27 patient cases and concluded that the care did not amount to illegal prescribing and exceeded applicable standards. That broader review countered the risk of judging an entire practice from a few selected records. After a trial lasting nearly a month and roughly two and a half days of deliberations, jurors acquitted Dr. Hansen on six counts and were unable to agree on two. The government later dismissed those remaining counts. Independent horse-racing publication BloodHorse reported both the acquittals and Hansen’s effort to rebuild his racing and professional life after the case in “After Winning Court Case, Hansen Eyes Racing Return”. A later report concerning Dr. Fletcher likewise states that Hansen was acquitted and that prosecutors dismissed the unresolved charges; the report appears in this Cincinnati Enquirer reproduction "Judge finds NKY doctor guilty of improper opioid prescriptions" . The practical lesson is not that every prescribing case is defensible in the same way. It is that scale and tragedy cannot substitute for element-by-element proof. A strong defense reconstructs the medicine, tests the government expert’s standard, investigates causation, and gives jurors enough context to decide whether the evidence proves a crime rather than a disagreement about care. For a physician facing a federal prescribing investigation, that work needs to begin before trial. Records must be preserved and organized; patient histories must be understood; experts must be chosen for relevant clinical experience; and every claimed “red flag” must be tested against what the physician actually knew at the time. *Hansen* shows how a defense can turn a frightening federal narrative back into the precise question the jury must answer: did the government prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt?, 2024
- United States v. Lesly Pompy: Converting “Red Flags” and Billing Analytics Into Reasonable Doubt On January 4, 2023, a federal jury acquitted Dr. Lesly Pompy on every count that reached the jury. Several other counts were dismissed during the trial. Dr. Lesly Pompy’s federal case combined three prosecution theories that can overwhelm a physician when presented together: unlawful prescribing, health-care fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises. The government relied on undercover evidence, selected patients, prescribing “red flags,” and billing analytics. Ron Chapman answered by separating those theories and testing the factual premise of each. The investigation began with an undercover operation at Pompy’s Monroe, Michigan practice. According to the firm’s detailed trial account, the undercover investigator arrived with a fabricated referral and complaints of back pain. Dr. Pompy eventually prescribed a low dose of Norco after multiple visits. Agents later raided the office, and a federal indictment followed. The government’s original announcement alleged that Pompy had prescribed more than 6.1 million units of controlled substances and that his practice had submitted approximately $16.9 million in claims. It also alleged unlawful prescriptions and fraud involving office-visit coding. The Department of Justice announcement now includes an update recording his acquittal, "DR. POMPY WAS ACQUITTED OF THE CHARGES ALLEDGED IN THE INDICTMENT DESCRIBED IN THE PRESS RELEASE" The size of the prescribing data made context essential. The defense account says the charged patients had objectively documented pain conditions, supported by imaging, laboratory work, urine testing, and other records. That evidence allowed counsel to challenge the government’s use of “red flags.” A red flag can prompt further inquiry, but it is not itself proof that the doctor knowingly wrote an unauthorized prescription. After *Ruan*, prosecutors had to prove subjective knowledge or intent, not simply that a government expert believed the physician should have reacted differently. Cross-examination and defense witnesses therefore returned repeatedly to what Dr. Pompy knew. Were injuries documented? Did he order testing? Did records corroborate pain? Did a patient’s conduct have an innocent or medically manageable explanation? A prosecution expert could identify a fact in hindsight, but the jury still had to decide whether it proved criminal intent at the time of treatment. The billing allegations required a different response. Prosecutors used an “impossible day” theory, arguing that the volume of evaluation-and-management codes represented more work than one doctor could perform. Coding expert Sean Weiss explained that the relevant codes were not necessarily calculated by adding fixed blocks of time. Complexity and the coding rules in effect also mattered. By confronting the analytic assumption beneath the chart, the defense turned what looked like mathematical certainty into a contestable billing opinion. The government’s proof weakened in view of the jury. According to the defense account, prosecutors dismissed one count while their expert was being redirected and additional fraud and drug-premises counts before deliberations. That is a useful reminder that trial strategy is not limited to the final verdict. Effective cross-examination can cause charges to fall before the jury ever receives them. The defense presentation was concise. Patients and physicians described Pompy’s care and reputation. Dr. James Murphy addressed pain medicine, and Weiss addressed coding. A particularly important witness was Diana Knight, a longtime patient and practice biller called by the government. The firm reports that her testimony was favorable to Pompy and undercut the prosecution’s characterization of treatment that formed part of its own case. After roughly a month of trial, with deliberations interrupted by the holidays, the jury returned on January 4, 2023 and found Pompy not guilty on all remaining counts. The Monroe News reported on the complete defense verdict and the emotional scene in the courtroom; a syndicated copy is available through Health Watch Minute. Prescribing, billing, and premises counts have different elements and different bodies of expert knowledge. A red flag is not intent. A large total is not an unlawful prescription. A billing model is only as reliable as its assumptions. And a government witness may know facts that help the defense. Data can be explained away. It is that data can be audited. When the defense reconstructs the records, prepares witnesses, chooses the right experts, and insists on the post-*Ruan* intent standard, a jury can distinguish a physician practicing difficult medicine from a defendant committing a federal crime., 2022
- United States v. Bothra: How Dr. David Lewis Was Acquitted in a $464 Million Health-Care Fraud TrialOn June 29, 2022, a federal jury acquitted Dr. David Lewis and three co-defendant physicians on all counts. Ron Chapman and Jeffrey Collins represented Dr. Lewis. Few accusations are more intimidating than a federal health-care case built around a nine-figure number. In United States v. Bothra, prosecutors alleged that physicians at The Pain Center participated in a $464 million scheme involving medically unnecessary services and opioid prescriptions. The number made headlines. Ron Chapman’s defense of Dr. David Lewis focused on a more useful question: what did the patient records and the actual care prove? The federal indictment named Drs. Rajendra Bothra, Ganiu Edu, David Lewis, Christopher Russo, and others. Prosecutors alleged that the clinic used controlled-substance prescriptions to induce patients to accept unnecessary injections and other procedures billed to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. The Department of Justice summarized those allegations—and later updated the same page to record the acquittals—in its official case announcement "Six Area Doctors Charged in Connection with $464 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme Involving Unnecessary Injections and Unlawfully Prescribed Opioids". At trial in the Eastern District of Michigan, the government’s task was not simply to show high prescribing, high billing, or disagreement over treatment. Health-care fraud required proof of a knowing and intentional scheme, while the prescribing counts required proof that the doctors knowingly or intentionally acted without authorization. The Supreme Court issued *Ruan* while the jury was deliberating, clarifying the latter standard. During the seven week trial, Ron Chapman attacked the representativeness of the government’s medical proof. The government expert had reviewed six patient charts, yet prosecutors asked the jury to infer a pervasive scheme involving an enormous practice and hundreds of millions of dollars in claims. The defense emphasized the gap between a small, selected group of records and a conclusion about an entire patient population. This was more than a complaint about sample size. In a complex fraud case, selection can control the story. If investigators choose the records that look most questionable and omit the rest, jurors may see only the prosecution’s constructed version of the practice. The defense can respond by asking how the files were selected, whether the method was statistically valid, whether contrary files existed, and whether an adverse medical opinion is being transformed into evidence of intentional fraud. The defense also separated medical necessity from criminal deceit. Patients testified about the care they received. Medical experts addressed the treatment itself, while a coding and billing expert addressed reimbursement rules. This helped prevent a common collapse in health-care prosecutions: treating any contested procedure, documentation issue, or coding disagreement as proof of a single criminal plan. Dr. Lewis chose to testify. That decision is never automatic. It exposes a defendant to cross-examination and must follow careful preparation and a realistic assessment of the record. Here, according to the defense account, Lewis explained his clinical decisions directly and his testimony was not materially impeached. His appearance allowed the jury to evaluate intent through the physician who actually made the decisions rather than only through agents, selected patients, and outside reviewers. After approximately seven weeks of trial and about ten hours of deliberations, the jury acquitted all four physicians on all counts. ClickOnDetroit independently reported the verdict in “4 Michigan Doctors Acquitted of Charges in Prescription Drug Scheme”. The Statesman also reported the complete defense verdict and the government’s allegations in its coverage of Dr. Bothra’s acquittal. The result offers a clear strategy lesson. Large loss figures create atmosphere, but they do not prove what happened in a particular patient encounter or what a particular doctor intended. A defense can reduce an overwhelming case to testable components: Was the patient sample representative? Did qualified experts use the correct clinical and billing standards? Were services actually provided? Was the dispute about medical judgment, or was there proof of knowing deceit? What evidence connected this physician—not merely the clinic—to the alleged plan? For professionals looking for Health Care Fraud Defense counsel, Bothra shows the value of a defense team that can work simultaneously in medicine, billing, data, and trial advocacy. The acquittal did not come from ignoring the $464 million accusation. It came from refusing to let the accusation substitute for proof., 2022
- Ron achieved the reversal of a drug trafficking conviction at the United States Supreme Court in Naum v. United States. , 2021
- Full acquittal in People v. Joseph Oesterling, a mayo clinic trained physician charged with drug trafficking. (Read More), 2019
- United States v. McCutchen, a Detroit physician was charged in a wide ranging Oxycodone drug conspiracy., 2017
- Alleged “Pill Mill” Doctor Charged with Drug Trafficking, Corruption & Conspiracy – Receives No Jail Time & Returns to Practice, 2016
- Nurse Accused of Stealing / Diverting Narcotics – Returns to Practice, 2014
- Defended a Michigan Dentist accused of sexually assaulting an employee and criminal contempt charges.
- Defended North Carolina physician accused of over-prescribing and violation of 21 U.S.C. 841 in a Federal conspiracy indictment with multiple co-defendants arising out of the operation of a pain management clinic.
- Defended a Northern Michigan physician related to the operation of a small clinic which resulted in multiple State charges for drug trafficking.
- Represented the manager of a large California healthcare corporation related to violations of the False Claims act, Health Care Fraud, and Conspiracy.
- Physician Charged with 7 Felony Counts of Drug Trafficking has Charges Dropped and Pleads to One Count of False Entry in Medical Record, 2015
- Defended a Michigan Psychologist accused of sexual assault of a patient and having an inappropriate physician patient relationship.
- Class Action Against HPRP – Health Professionals Recovery Program, 2015
- Defended a Michigan owner of three physician practices during a multi-year DEA, IRS, and FBI investigation and a Federal drug conspiracy indictment related to the prescription of oxycodone under 21 U.S.C. 841.
- Defended a Kentucky pharmacist charged in a Federal indictment with illegal drug distribution, conspiracy, and misbranding related to the operation of two pharmacies.
- Defended a Texas medical clinic facing a DEA audit due to misappropriation of controlled substances. , 2016
- Nurse Charged With Obtaining Drugs by Fraud, Health Care Fraud, Drug Possession and Unlawful Prescribing Has Charges Resolved and May Continue to Practice Nursing, 2015
- Defended a Michigan Pharmacist facing State drug trafficking charges and accused of drug diversion from his pharmacy in State.
- Suspension Overturned for RN Accused of Drug Diversion, Refused Employment Drug Screen, and Declined HPRP Agreement, 2015
- Defended the owners of a large Michigan home health care corporation during FBI investigation and Federal Indictment related to Anti-Kickback and False Claims Act.
- Defended a Detroit physician accused of over-prescribing under 21 U.S.C. 841, Health Care Fraud under 18 U.S.C. 1347 related to the operation of a Detroit area clinic.
- Represented multiple Michigan health professionals in a Federal Class Action Lawsuit against the State of Michigan and a Contractor arising out of the operation of HPRP, the Michigan Physician Health Program.
- Defended a Michigan Nurse Practitioner accused with diversion of Oxycodone in State Drug Charges.
Videos
- The primary theme of this discussion focuses on the legal and regulatory challenges facing physicians who prescribe controlled substances, particularly pain management providers. Throughout the conversation, recurring topics include DEA investigations, healthcare compliance, physician legal defense, opioid prescribing regulations, chronic pain treatment, medical record documentation, and risk management for healthcare providers., How the DOJ Affects Doctors AND Patients, with Claudia Merandi: Health Care Hot Topics, Health Care, Criminal Law, 2020
- A US jury just awarded $6 million against Meta and Google for deliberately designing addictive platforms. Federal criminal defense attorney Ron Chapman joined GB News to break down what that verdict actually unlocks — and why Section 230 couldn't protect Big Tech this time. The judgment succeeded by using a products liability theory. With that framework now established, plaintiffs' lawyers have a roadmap and hundreds of similar lawsuits are likely to follow. Ron also weighs in on the UK government's proposed restrictions on social media for under-16s and why the real question is whether governments can hold companies accountable for how their algorithms were built., Social Media Addiction Just Became a Legal Liability | GB News, Product Liability, 2026
- Black built one of the largest private equity firms on earth and became a billionaire doing it. He also wired nine figures to a convicted sex offender for what his lawyers call tax and estate advice. The House Oversight Committee wants to know why, and it has subpoenaed both his testimony and the nondisclosure agreements he signed. He walks through the money. There are the service payments routed through an Epstein-affiliated Virgin Islands entity. There is $30.5 million in loans tied to an art deal. There are eight-figure donations to an Epstein charity, and a $62.5 million settlement Black paid the U.S. Virgin Islands. He looks at what a law firm hired by Apollo actually found, and what the Senate Finance Committee says it missed. Then he gets into the law underneath it. Why the missing contracts and invoices matter more than the size of the payments. How tax characterization can turn a service fee into real exposure. What Congress can still compel if Black takes the Fifth. So far, this billionaire has faced congressional subpoenas and no indictment, and Ron explains what that tells us., Leon Black Paid Epstein $158 Million. Congress Wants Answers., Criminal Investigations, Criminal Defense, 2026
- Flock Safety's license plate reader network has spread to over 5,000 cities, tracking vehicles with no warrant required. Federal criminal defense attorney Ron Chapman examines the Flock camera surveillance system, the Fourth Amendment questions surrounding it, and the wave of cities now ripping these cameras out., Flock Cameras: What Your City Isn't Telling You, Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, 2026
- What began as a memoir controversy has become one of the most stunning reversals in modern Washington. John Bolton—the same man who once said Edward Snowden “ought to swing from a tall oak tree”—now stands indicted on 18 federal counts under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors allege he kept hundreds of Top Secret/SCI pages, shared them with relatives over Gmail, and exposed the United States’ most sensitive intelligence to an Iranian-linked hack. In this episode of Off Air, federal criminal defense attorney and former Marine Prosecutor Ron Chapman breaks down how Bolton’s “book” defense collapsed, why §793(d) and (e) are among the most serious national-security charges short of treason, and how the Iranian cyber-intrusion changed everything. From covert-action details and SIGINT leaks to family “editors” without clearances, this case may redefine what it means to betray America’s secrets., John Bolton Spying? New Evidence Revealed, Criminal Defense, 2025
- The Department of Justice presented this as one coordinated takedown. A single message. A deterrent. But when you look inside the cases, much of the machinery is Medicare enrollment language, billing certifications, medical necessity standards, and anti-kickback rules that providers struggle to follow. Ron walks through how the Healthcare Fraud Unit's Data Fusion Center combines analytics across HHS, the FBI, and other agencies, and how prosecutors now deploy advanced algorithms inside the CMS data repository. He explains why one Illinois case moved from review to arrest in a timeline that almost never happens in federal prosecutions, and what that speed reveals about how these cases get built. He also examines the wound care prosecutions driving much of this effort, the $906 million case involving terminally ill patients, and the pressure that strips providers of their licenses and billing privileges long before a jury ever hears the evidence. He draws on his own experience handling some of the largest healthcare fraud cases in the country, including matters referenced in the DOJ's own announcements., How the DOJ Turned Billing Data Into a $6.5 Billion Takedown, Healthcare Fraud, Healthcare Law, Criminal Defense, 2024
- The content is centered on helping healthcare providers prevent, respond to, and defend against allegations of Medicare fraud, Medicaid fraud, insurance fraud, kickbacks, false claims, and other federal healthcare crimes. Rather than focusing solely on criminal defense after an investigation begins, the transcript consistently emphasizes compliance programs, internal investigations, self-disclosure, risk mitigation, and early legal intervention as the best strategies for avoiding federal prosecution. It also highlights the importance of experienced healthcare fraud attorneys who understand CMS regulations, healthcare billing requirements, medical necessity standards, federal healthcare programs, and the complexities of defending providers against investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Inspector General (OIG), FBI, and other federal agencies., Health Care Fraud 101, Health Care, Criminal Law, 2020
Educational Background
- Oakland University, B.A., 2006
- Naval Justice School, 2010
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Panel discussion surrounding the issue of whether physicians can be convicted for unlawful distribution of Controlled Substances if they believe the drugs they prescribed were prescribed under professional norms., Panelist, Panel Discussion: Xiulu Ruan v. United States of America, American Conference Institute, 2022
- Letter to the Editor About How the Outcome of Ruan v. United States Will Affect Prescribers., Co-Author, How the U.S. Supreme Court is About to Affect Every Prescriber in America, Journal of Opioid Management 18:3, 2022
- Presentation at FPA's Annual Law Conference about to handle State and DEA inspections., Presenter, How to Prepare and Respond to State and DEA Inspections and Medicaid Audits, Florida Pharmacy Association, 2021
- Building, Maintaining, and Evolving in a Highly Regulated Area, Presenter, Building an Ironclad Compliance Program, American Conference Institute, 2021
- Discuss of Why Prosecutors Choose the Health Care Fraud Statue Again and Again, Presenter, Health Care Fraud Statue vs. False Claims Act, National Alliance of Medical Auditing Specialists, 2021
- Discussion of pandemic lessons learned in 2020 and provide the practical guidance providers need to move forward. Examine major issues such as the explosion of telemedicine and the latest in hospital mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Dive into cybersecurity and remote practice implications. Plus, get updates on state and federal regulations, fraud and abuse, and Stark., Presenter, Current Trends in Health Care Fraud & Abuse Enforcement, Institute of Continuing Legal Education - Health Law Institute, 2021
- Tailoring inspection strategies for every link of the supply chain., Presenter, DEA Site Visit Checklist, American Conference Institute, 2020
- Building and Enhancing an Effective Controlled Substances Compliance Program, Presenter, Compliance Think Tank, American Conference Institute, 2020
- Introduction to the Fundamentals of Prescribing Controlled Substances., Presenter, Controlled Substances Bootcamp, American Conference Institute, 2018
- Discussion of Brest Practices, Guidelines, and Regulations., Presenter, Principles for Safe Opioid Prescribing, Michigan State Medical Society, 2017
- CME Webinar., Presenter, Protect Yourself and Your License: DEA Compliance and Opioid Abuse, Urgent Care Association of America, 2017
- Author, Defending Hippocrates: Representing Physicians in the Wake of the Opioid Epidemic, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ The Champion, 2017
- Preparing for and Defending Regulatory Investigations, Michigan Medical Society Spring Conference, 2016
- Criminal Accusations Cause Health Care Professionals to Face Potentially Debilitating Collateral Consequences, State Appellate Defender Office, Criminal Defense Newsletter, Health Care Law, 2016
- Interviewee, DEA Is Cracking Down On Physicians Who Overprescribe Pills, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Health Care, 2016
- Evidence-Based Best Practice for Opioid Prescribing and Monitoring: Medicolegal Pain Management Expert Symposium, International Conference on Opioids, Journal of Opioid Management, Harvard Medical Conference Center, 2016
- Physician’s Guide to DEA Administrative Inspections, Pain Medicine News, 2016
- The Black Cloud of a Medical Board Investigation, Medscape, 2015
- Responsible Opioid Prescribing and Monitoring for Pain Management: Evidence-Based Best Practice, Michigan State Medical Society’s 150th Annual Scientific Meeting, 2015
- The shifting sands of opioid prescription here in the US and around the globe combined with the pandemic have made it challenging to plan our next conference. That said, we appreciate the daily calls to our office inquiring about this conference. The support is gratifying and it confirms there is definite need for a serious conference on opioids. We need your help. Please take a couple of minutes and jot down three items. First, what concept, skill or theme would you like us to focus our next conference on? Second, where do you see the field of opioid prescription in the next 5 years? Third, would you be interested in joining a conference committee to bring forth the next event? Please send your notes to the Journal of Opioid Management e-mail box at jom (at) pnpco (dot) com. Your input is critical and thank you for your dedication., When Prescribing Controlled Substances Becomes Drug Trafficking, Pain Medicine News, Consulting, Therapy, Policy, 2015
- Top 10 Tips for Physician to Avoid Prosecution for Over Prescribing, AVVO, 2015
Other Outstanding Achievements
- Navy Achievement Medal
- Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Honors
- Michigan Rising Star in the area of Health Law, Rising Star - Health Law, Super Lawyers, 2022
- Michigan Rising Star in the area of Health Law, Rising Star - Health Law, Super Lawyers, 2020
- Michigan Rising Star in the area of Health Law, Rising Star - Health Law, Super Lawyers, 2021
- Up & Coming Lawyers, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, 2015
- Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorney Under 40, National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys, 2015
- Navy Achievement Medal, U.S. Marine Corps, 2013: Ron was awarded the navy achievement medal for his work as an operational law officer for II MEF the expeditionary force occupying the east coast of the U.S. Ron worked on high level Federal investigations, coordinated closely with ICE, NCIS, the FBI, and various narcotics units. Additionally, Ron created a course designed to instruct other Marine Officers regarding operational law issues prior to deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, U.S. Marine Corps, 2012: Ron was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps commendation medal for his work in Afghanistan as a battalion judge advocate working with Marines during a highly kinetic counter insurgency campaign. Ron also was the officer in charge of a detention facility that housed suspected insurgents.
Industry Groups
- All Health Care Professionals:
- Ambulatory Surgical Centers
- Chiropractors
- Correctional Healthcare Providers
- Dentists
- Health Care Facilities
- Home Health Agencies
- Hospitals
- Mental Health Professionals
- Nurses
- Ophthalmologists
- Optometrists
- Pain Clinics
- Pharmacies
- Pharmacists
- Physicians
- Professional Liability Insurers
- Skilled Nursing Facilities
- Veterinarians
Office location for Ron Chapman
456 E Milwaukee St
Detroit, MI 48202
Selections
3 Years Super Lawyers
9 Years Rising Stars
- Super Lawyers: 2024 - 2026
- Rising Stars: 2015 - 2023