A 68-year-old Houston man has agreed to pay $390,082 to resolve allegations he submitted false claims to Medicare for the surgical implantation of neurostimulator electrodes, announced US Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Dr. Benjamin Tiongson is a pain management doctor who practices in Houston, Sugar Land and Katy. Pain Reduction Center PA is an entity Tiongson used to conduct his medical practice. From Dec. 7, 2021, to Dec. 14, 2022, Tiongson billed Medicare for the surgical implantation of neurostimulator electrodes. These are invasive procedures usually requiring use of an operating room. As a result, Medicare pays thousands of dollars per procedure. However, neither Tiongson nor his staff performed these surgical procedures, according to the allegations. Instead, patients allegedly received devices used for electro-acupuncture, which only involved inserting monofilament wire a few millimeters into patients’ ears and taping the neurostimulator behind the ear with an adhesive. All device placements took place in Tiongson’s clinic, not a hospital or surgical center, and no incision was made on a patient, according to the allegations.