- Former MMA and Bare Knuckle Boxing Championship fighter Josh Burns was sentenced yesterday in one of the largest medical fraud scheme cases in United States history. Burns was involved with a Detroit Metro medical doctor in the case, but with Dr. Frank Patino being the focus, Burns was able to only get a one-year sentence in a halfway house, with three years supervised release, and restitution payments of $144,000.
Former BKFC Fighter Josh Burns Sentenced in Fraud Case
Josh Burns was seen as just a small player in the larger picture of the fraud case, but was an obvious standout character in it due to his physically imposing appearance. Burns moved money to Dr. Patino from medical labs that paid in exchange for the doctor referring patients to clinics for urine tests.
All in all, Dr. Patino referred more than $2.6 million worth of lab services and Burns had the money deposited in his bank account and spent some of the cash on the doctor’s behalf sponsoring MMA fighters which encouraged more testing at his labs.
According to The Detroit News, U.S. Trial Attorneys Kathleen Cooperstein and Steven Scott wrote in the sentencing memorandum: “To put it bluntly, these tests were a waste of Medicare funds, and by participating in an illegal scheme to refer them, Burns inflicted a great deal of harm to the public health system and the citizens it serves.”
Burns faced a five-year sentence, but against prosecutors’ recommendation, the judge decided that the sentence given was sufficient. Burns also is working with the prosecution to help their case against Dr. Patino, which helped his case and sentencing to be as lenient as it ended up being.
For his combat sports record, Josh Burns has an 8-10 record in his MMA career before jumping ship to the BKFC. He knocked out heated rival Sam Shewmaker in the first round at BKFC 21 in what could be his last fight for a few years.
Featured Image courtesy of Phil Lambert/BKFC
