Brentwood Optometrist Helen Boerman Pleads Guilty To $6.9M Medicare Fraud Scheme

Helen Boerman, a 48-year-old optometric physician from Brentwood, pleaded guilty in federal court to a years-long scheme prosecutors say drained about $6.9 million from Medicare through her Brentwood Eye Care practice.

“More forecasts: Nashville Brentwood Optometrist Pleads Guilty in $6”

Hoodline

Prosecutors said Boerman used her practice to file false Medicare claims for new wound care products she had not actually purchased or used, and that she directed staff to alter patient records so the paperwork lined up with the bogus claims.

The Times of India

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Boerman submitted false Medicare claims for wound-care placements on May 20, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27, even though appointment records showed the patients only had appointments on May 20, 24 and 27.

Boerman also pleaded guilty to conduct that included false claims to TennCare between March 2020 and October 2024 and to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Programs, according to prosecutors.

In a May 2022 example highlighted by prosecutors, Brentwood Eye Care submitted claims for wound-care placements on days when appointment records showed no service was actually provided, and staff were told to go back and add entries to justify the charges.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Boerman “directed the staff at Brentwood Eye Care to create false records for the other dates to support the services fraudulently billed to Medicare.”

WKRN News 2

Prosecutors also said Boerman split wound care products intended for single use, and then used the backfilled records to substantiate repeated claims for single-use products to maximize reimbursements along the way.

Boerman admitted that during the course of her criminal conduct she submitted false Medicare claims in the amount of approximately $11 million and received approximately $6.9 million, according to the press release cited by WSMV and WKRN.

Boerman is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2026 by Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell Jr., with a statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, according to the reporting that cites the U.S. Attorney’s Office and court documents.

“WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn”

WKRN News 2

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the case was investigated by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General, and that it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Bogni.

United States Attorney Braden Boucek said, “Eliminating fraud in federal programs and holding fraudsters accountable is among the highest priorities of the Department of Justice,” and added, “We will not tolerate fraud against the taxpayers here in the Middle District of Tennessee.”

At sentencing, investigators and prosecutors will present information to the court, which will decide Boerman’s punishment and any restitution owed, while the Justice Department said the prosecution was coordinated with its National Fraud Enforcement Division.