RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A former Rapid City dentist and city councilman convicted of medical fraud has been ordered to pay $12 million to victims, with his cohorts adding nearly another million.
Larry Lytle, 83, was sentenced in April to 12 years in prison for using bogus claims to mislead more than 3,000 people into buying laser devices he said could treat hundreds of medical conditions, including diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and AIDS.
A restitution order was filed Monday in federal court against Lytle and two co-conspirators who pleaded guilty earlier to conspiring with him, the Rapid City Journal reported . Ronald Weir, 39, of Rapid City, was ordered to pay about $802,000 and Irina Kossovskaia, 63, a Canadian citizen, about $92,000. Weir earlier was sentenced to two years in prison and Kossovskaia was sentenced to a year and three months behind bars.
Lytle admitted to selling the so-called QLasers for about $4,000 each from 2005 through 2015. The case has been described by prosecutors as one of the largest fraud schemes ever handled in federal court in South Dakota.
Both Lytle and Weir have questioned the restitution amounts and have been given until Oct. 5 to produce documents supporting their requests for reductions.
Lytle's plea agreement required him to start making restitution earlier this year, and he has paid nearly $673,000. Whether any more can be obtained from him is unknown. Prosecutors have alleged that he transferred many of his assets to family members as his legal situation deteriorated, and a judge earlier this summer said Lytle "appears to be nearly devoid of assets."
Victims will receive proportional shares of whatever restitution is collected.
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
