A federal grand jury in St. George has indicted a Utah podiatrist and two nurses on allegations they submitted fraudulent Medicare claims for skin substitute treatments, resulting in roughly $29 million paid by Medicare for care deemed unnecessary. The indictment covers billing conducted between July 2021 and December 2025 and names specific individuals and clinics tied to the scheme. Authorities say the alleged conduct involved bypassing medical rules, billing under a provider number, and avoiding copay collection to maximize payments.
The indictment returned earlier this week lists three defendants by name and alleges they used the Medicare system for personal gain rather than patient care. Ryan Scott Ellsworth, 47, of Highland, Utah; Emily Kelly, 45, of Washington, Utah; and Drake Dell Broadbent, 55, of Santa Clara, Utah, are accused of submitting claims for skin substitute services that were often not medically necessary. Prosecutors say the scheme spanned multiple locations and relied on routine billing practices that violated program rules.
Ellsworth is identified as the owner and operator of Summit Foot and Ankle, which ran clinics across Utah, and as the owner of Amble Medical in Highland, Utah, while Kelly and Broadbent worked primarily out of Summit’s St. George clinic. The indictment alleges the three coordinated clinical and billing activity so claims could be funneled through Ellsworth’s practice and Medicare provider number. Investigators focus on how services were documented and what qualified as medically necessary under Medicare rules.
Federal filings quoted in the indictment explain that Medicare will cover a skin substitute only when it is medically necessary and after basic wound care has been provided for the 30 prior days. The defendants are accused of submitting claims for patients who did not have qualifying wounds and of billing for continued skin substitute treatment that medical records did not justify. That alleged departure from rules is central to the fraud claims and is the basis for much of the restitution the government seeks.
According to the indictment, the defendants also skipped pursuing Medicare copayments from beneficiaries in many cases, leaving patients with unpaid balances that at times would have amounted to thousands of dollars. Prosecutors allege Ellsworth directed or allowed unqualified medical staff, including Broadbent, to perform skin substitute procedures outside their professional scope of practice. The complaint further claims Ellsworth then billed those services under his own name and Medicare provider number to secure reimbursement.
Records cited by investigators show large billing totals tied to the scheme: Ellsworth allegedly billed approximately $44 million in claims for skin substitutes, with Medicare paying Summit over $19 million on those submissions, while Kelly billed roughly $17 million and Medicare paid Summit over $10 million on her submitted claims. The combined payments cited by prosecutors match the $29 million figure reported as paid by Medicare on the challenged claims. Those numbers form the financial backbone of the government’s case.
All three defendants face charges of healthcare fraud and wire fraud, and Ellsworth and Broadbent are additionally charged with making false statements relating to healthcare matters, according to the indictment. The initial appearance is scheduled for June 8, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in courtroom 2B at the courthouse located at 206 West Tabernacle Street, St. George, Utah 84470. Those arraignment details are included in the charging papers filed in the District of Utah.
First Assistant United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak announced the indictment, and federal investigators are handling the matter as a multiagency effort, with the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division listed as participants. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Y. Hirata of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. Officials say the investigation remains active as charges move through the court process.
The Department of Justice announced on April 7 the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, and the department has described the core mission of the Fraud Division as to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Federal efforts in this area are being framed as part of a broader push to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within federal benefit programs and to strengthen oversight of taxpayer-funded healthcare programs. Prosecutors say cases like this one are precisely the sort of conduct the new initiatives aim to detect and deter.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The case will proceed through the federal courts where evidence, witness testimony, and legal arguments will determine whether the government can meet that burden.
