Local Oncologist Guilty of Medicare Fraud Will Keep License

Dr. Glen Justice, the Fountain Valley oncologist convicted last year on five counts of Medicare fraud, will not lose his medical license once he's released from prison, according to documents released last week by the California State Medical Board.

Justice, 66, in July of last year to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in March 15 of 2010 of bilking Medicare and private insurance providers out of more than $1 million for medications that were never administered. He was the head of Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center's cancer center and also owned Pacific Coast Hematology/Oncology Group in Fountain Valley, where the fraudulent Medicare claims were filed. Prosecutors had originally recommended probation, but later discovered that Justice continued to defraud the government after the plea agreement was reached.

Last week's ruling by Judge Julie Cabos-Owen cited Justice's desire to continue treating members of the local indigent population at the Lestonnac Free Medical Clinic, where he began volunteering before his sentencing. As part of his sentence, Justice is prohibited from billing Medicare for five years.

Cabos-Owen, while not ignoring Justice's continued characterization of his crimes as altruistic, felt that his crimes were "an anomaly in an otherwise law-abiding life."

Among the conditions of Justice's probation, he will have to provide a copy of Cabos-Owen's ruling to the chief of staff of any hospital he works for once released. He is also prohibited from supervising physician's assistants, is prohibited from operating a solo medical practice and must complete an ethics course within 60 days of his release.