Three indicted in scam at VA Medical Center in Salem
By the Associated Press
Published January 17, 2002

ROANOKE, Va. -- Three podiatrists who used to work at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem have been indicted on corruption charges by a federal grand jury, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. Benedict A. Profera, the former chief of the podiatric division at the medical center, was charged along with a married couple, Daniel D. and Suzanne Haritatos Semko, the department said. The three face wire fraud, bribery and theft charges.

Federal authorities allege that Profera allowed Daniel Semko to receive credit and a salary for working as a resident at the hospital when he was rarely there. Both Semko and his wife were paid $24,000 for serving as residents from July 1997 until June 1998.

Certifications of residency are necessary to practice in many managed-care organizations and in some hospitals, according to the indictment. The wire fraud charges stem from money transfers across state lines for Semko's salary. The indictment states that the Semkos instead spent most of their time working for their own private podiatry clinic in Indiana, a clinic called American Foot Services.

None of the three doctors could be reached for comment.

VA medical center director Stephen Lemons said Profera resigned in February 1998. He said he was aware of the investigation at the time, but did not ask Profera to resign.

Profera works as a podiatrist at Lawton Indian Hospital in Oklahoma.
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