Therapist gets year for cheating military

SEATTLE, April 7 (UPI) -- A Seattle psychologist has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for billing a program for military families for therapy never given.

Dr. David Celio agreed in March to repay the government $510,264 to settle a civil claim.

"The raw facts are that you got money that you weren't entitled to," said U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in sentencing Celio Friday. "You created medical histories that were not true and that can affect patients for years."

In one case, Celio saw the brother of a patient once during a family counseling session but billed TRICARE -- a program to provide assistance to the families of reserve and active-duty military -- for 25 individual sessions. He submitted a report detailing his supposed progress and plans for additional treatment, federal prosecutors said.

"The military families that rely on the TRICARE program are families that sacrifice greatly," U.S. Attorney Susan Loitz wrote in a sentencing memo. "They deserve generous health care benefits that remain secure. Fraud committed against TRICARE puts their benefits in jeopardy."