A prominent New York fertility doctor was recently sentenced to more than 7 years in prison for his insurance fraud conviction. Dr. Niels Lauersen received the 73-month sentence and was ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution and an additional $17,500 in fines.
Niels was convicted of pocketing $2.5 million during a 10-year period. Prosecutors say he stole from insurance companies by falsely billing fertility surgeries that were not covered by insurance as gynecological surgeries. Tearful former patients called out to Niels and wished him well as he was led away. He is now in prison.
At his sentencing, the judge said, “You were a medical doctor at the top of your profession and a public figure at the apex of New York society. Your fall from prestige has been Faustian in its dimensions.” A probation report recommended that Niels be sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. Niels, 64, has lived in the United States since 1967, when he left Denmark. His lawyer, Gerald Shargel, argued for leniency, saying Niels had an honorable purpose: to make it affordable for women with fertility problems to have children.
“This is a very tough sentence. This is a very unusual case,” Gerald said. His client had treated 14,000 women, delivering 3,000 children in a single year.
1. What pressure might have motivated Niels to commit fraud?
2. What opportunity might have allowed Niels to commit fraud?
3. How did Niels rationalize his fraudulent activities?
4. How could Niels have both helped his patients and not lied or stolen from the insurance company?