Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Durango doctor for allegedly defrauding Colorado Medicaid of more than $374,000

Attorney General Phil Weiser sues Durango doctor for allegedly defrauding Colorado Medicaid of more than $374,000

Sept. 15, 2026 (DENVER) - Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit under the Colorado Medicaid False Claims Act against Durango physician Daniel Caplin, alleging he knowingly billed the state's Medicaid program more than $374,000 for opioid addiction treatment services after his clinic lost the controlled substance license required to provide those services.

"Colorado Medicaid provides essential health care to some of our state's most vulnerable residents, and fraud takes limited resources away from the Coloradans who rely on this program," said Attorney General Weiser. "We allege that Dr. Caplin knew his clinic had lost the license needed to provide these services and continued billing Medicaid anyway. Providers who accept public funds have a responsibility to follow the law, and we will hold accountable those who defraud Colorado taxpayers."

According to the complaint, Caplin owned and operated Colorado Addiction Treatment Services, Inc., PC, or CATS, a Durango medical practice that provided medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder. After state regulators found multiple violations at the clinic in March 2022, the state put CATS on a 90-day probationary controlled substance license. The clinic failed to submit a required corrective action plan, and its license expired on June 3, 2022.

Despite losing the required license, Caplin allegedly continued providing and billing Colorado Medicaid for medication-assisted treatment. From June 2022 through November 2023, CATS submitted 703 claims totaling $270,664.81 for the administration of buprenorphine or buprenorphine compounds after its controlled substance license expired. CATS also submitted 1,001 claims totaling $103,575.67 for evaluation and management services related to substance use disorder treatment during the period it was not licensed to provide medication-assisted treatment. Colorado Medicaid would not have paid the claims had it known CATS lacked the required license.

The complaint alleges Caplin had direct notice that the clinic was no longer authorized to provide the treatment. On June 17, 2022, a member of the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration's opioid treatment licensing team visited CATS and informed clinic staff and Caplin by phone that the license had expired, and the clinic was no longer authorized to provide medication-assisted treatment. The state employee supervised the removal of the clinic's licensure notices from its waiting room.

Under the Colorado Medicaid False Claims Act, a person who knowingly submits false or fraudulent claims for reimbursement can be held liable for up to three times the damages sustained by the state, in addition to civil penalties. The Attorney General's Office is seeking damages, civil penalties, costs and attorney fees, and other relief allowed by law. The lawsuit was filed in Denver District Court.

Read the complaint (PDF).

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