By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
Three New York City podiatrists are heading off to prison after a Manhattan federal judge sentenced them Wednesday for scamming Medicare.
Podiatrists Henry Borrelli, Albert Kalajian and Nicolas Errico, who worked in free clinics across the city, face prison sentences ranging from 18 to 37 months.
The crooked foot doctors were convicted for lying about their patients' conditions to get reimbursements from Medicare and private insurance companies.
"The treatment was 'free' only because the [doctors] purposely ignored Medicare's requirement that patients be responsible for the 20 percent co-payment," the U.S. Attorney's office said in a release.
Six other podiatrists were sentenced from 2004 to 2007 to prison terms ranging from six to more than five years. Altogether, 17 former foot clinic workers have been convicted in connection to this scam.
