On Thursday, May 2, 2019, Ashland cardiologist Dr. Richard Paulus was sentenced by US District Court Judge David Bunning, to serve 60 months in federal prison for health care fraud and false statements. Paulus was convicted by a federal jury in October 2016 after hearing evidence that Paulus defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers by implanting medically unnecessary stents in his patients and falsifying the degree of stenosis in their medical records. After trial, the district court granted his motion for an acquittal, which was reversed on June 25, 2018, resulting in his formal sentencing. In addition to his prison sentence, Paulus must pay $1.1 million in restitution.