Dr. Bethany Cataldi started her career by becoming one of the bigger specialty names in the medical field as an Otolaryngologist, a medical specialist that medically and surgically treats diseases of the head and neck, including the ears, nose and throat. But in Cataldi’s case, her practice also included fraud. Not sure if that is considered a condition or even a specialty. But after stealing millions of dollars in a health care scheme, Cataldi will be ending her career known as a fraudster.
Cataldi was the owner of the Center for Otolaryngology and Facial Plastic Surgery in Highland, Indiana. Between March 2015 and December 2023, Cataldi submitted thousands of claims to Medicare for reimbursement for individual balloon sinuplasty and inflation devices, an outpatient procedure used to treat chronic sinus infections that requires a single use balloon inflation device. One and done. However, Cataldi only purchased less than one hundred of the devices during that time. Hard to dispute inventory. And numbers don’t add up.
In total, Cataldi’s practice billed Medicaid for $16.5 million and got reimbursed for $9 million for over 1,800 balloon sinuplasty procedures. The money was sent directly to a bank account controlled exclusively by Cataldi. She billed the various private insurance companies for the remaining $6 million she fraudulently gained in her scheme.
On July 29, 2025, Cataldi pled guilty to health care fraud.
Excellent job by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Highland doctor pleads guilty to federal charge of health care fraud” published by The Indiana Times on July 29, 2025.
A Highland-based ear, nose and throat doctor who cheated multiple insurance providers out of millions dollars has pleaded guilty to health care fraud, federal court records show. Dr. Bethany Cataldi, of Chesterton, admitted via plea agreement that she fraudulently billed Medicare and six private insurance companies a total of more than $22 million for single-use devices used in nasal medical procedures she didn’t complete, court records show. She is the owner of the Center for Otolaryngology and Facial Plastic Surgery in Highland.
The plea was filed June 20 and accepted at a court hearing Thursday by United States District Court Judge Gretchen Lund. Lund scheduled Cataldi’s sentencing hearing for Oct. 30, according to federal court records. Cataldi faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Additional charges against her will be dismissed following her sentencing.
