Doctor charged on 25 counts for $5M scheme

TAMPA — Dr. Anthony Baldizzi, 52 of Tierra Verde, has been indicted for a $5.3 million fraud scheme.

Baldizzi was charged with one count of conspiracy, 21 counts of health care fraud, one count of money laundering, one count of making a false statement and one count of receiving illegal kickbacks, a statement from U.S. Attorney A. Lee Bentley III's office says. The United States is also seeking a $5.3 million money judgment and forfeiture of a 2015 BMW M3, the statement says.

According to the indictment, Baldizzi, a licensed doctor at a Pinellas County urgent care clinic, entered into an agreement with Lifecare Compounding Pharmacy in 2014 to receive kickbacks for each prescription he wrote and directed to Lifecare.