A federal judge has sentenced a Missouri chiropractor to prison after a wide-ranging health care fraud and illegal prescription scheme that authorities said placed patients at risk and drained millions from federal programs.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday ordered Jerry Dale Leech, 53, of Clayton, to serve 100 months in prison and to repay $4.7 million to Medicaid, Medicare, and Tricare. Leech pleaded guilty in 2021 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to charges including conspiracy, obtaining controlled substances through fraud, receiving illegal kickbacks for referrals, and health care fraud.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric described Leech as the central figure in the conspiracy, characterizing him as the “ringmaster” of the operation…