HONOLULU (KHON2) — Oahu Spine and Rehab owner Stephen Timothy Wells, 41, of Waialua was sentenced on Feb. 27 in federal court to nine months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for healthcare fraud.
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Wells pled guilty to the charge back in September 2024, where he admitted that from July 2013 to early 2020 he submitted false claims for payment for physical therapy services to TRICARE, a healthcare program for U.S. military service members and their families, and Medicare.
According to the Department of Justice, Wells used individuals not trained in physical therapy, such as massage therapists, athletic trainers, personal trainers and even an individual with no professional licenses or certificates to provide physical therapy services to patients.
He admitted to knowing that these individuals are not authorized to provide services of this type, meaning he could not legitimately bill TRICARE and Medicare for services rendered. Regardless, he billed the services to TRICARE and Medicare as services provided by licensed practitioners.
“Tens of billions of dollars are lost to healthcare fraud each year, robbing Americans of vitally needed quality health services,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson. “Over a nearly seven year period, the defendant endeavored to bilk our nation’s taxpayer-funded TRICARE and Medicare programs out of as much money as possible.”
As part of his sentence, Wells has also been ordered to pay restitution to TRICARE and Medicare, totaling over $391,157.
“Today’s sentence should serve as a warning to those who attempt to cheat our taxpayer funded insurance programs: you will be caught,” Sorenson said. “And when you are, a prison sentence awaits.”
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