Dr. Alexander Baldonado.

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Queens doctor will spend seven years in federal prison for orchestrating a multimillion-dollar Medicare fraud scheme involving unnecessary cancer genetic tests and orthotic braces.

Alexander Baldonado, 69, caused more than $24 million in fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare and was ordered to pay $2.21 million in restitution following his sentencing in October, the US Attorney’s Office announced Friday, Dec. 12.

Baldonado received tens of thousands of dollars in illegal cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary laboratory tests — including high-cost cancer genetic tests — that were billed by two New York labs, according to prosecutors.

During the scheme, Baldonado authorized hundreds of cancer genetic tests for Medicare beneficiaries who attended COVID-19 testing events at assisted-living facilities, adult day care centers, and a retirement community in 2020.

At the time, he was not treating any of the patients and often never spoke with or examined them before ordering the tests, prosecutors said.

Several Medicare beneficiaries testified they had never met Baldonado and had no idea he had billed Medicare for lengthy office visits he never conducted. Baldonado also failed to follow up with many patients to review test results, and some never received their results at all.

In a separate kickback scheme, Baldonado received cash payments from a durable medical equipment supplier in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary orthotic braces for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Federal prosecutors presented undercover video footage showing Baldonado accepting a large sum of cash for signed brace prescriptions.

The fraudulent tests and braces led to more than $24 million in claims submitted to Medicare, which ultimately paid out more than $2.2 million, prosecutors said.

After a five-day jury trial in February 2025, Baldonado was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, multiple counts of health care fraud, and several kickback-related offenses.