Eldon L. Leinweber, a 72-year-old physician's assistant from Waterville, Washington, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to the FBI, according to an announcement made by Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
Leinweber faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a three-year court supervision term, and a $250,000 fine. Senior Judge William Fremming Nielsen will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Leinweber was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) for potential violations of federal law related to his prescribing of controlled substances at his clinic, Mansfield Family Medicine in Soap Lake, Washington. The FBI and HHS-OIG were also investigating allegations that the clinic overbilled Medicare and Medicaid. During the investigation, Leinweber provided false information to the FBI regarding the frequency of vital sign checks before prescribing opioid medication. Court documents show that Leinweber falsely stated that he checked vital signs "99.99%" of the time, which was later found to be untrue. The false statement was made to mislead investigators.
Leinweber is scheduled to be sentenced in July.