California doctor gets 10 years in ’rent-a-patient’ scam

A Southern California doctor has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for billing health insurance companies more than $9 million in unnecessary surgical procedures. William Hampton, MD, 53, was also ordered to pay nearly $2.5 million in restitution to defrauded health insurance companies by U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins. Hampton was convicted in November 2007 of healthcare fraud. He performed more than 400 unnecessary procedures at several medical clinics and submitted fraudulent bills to insurance companies.