By HOWARD M. UNGER

10/2/02 - TAMPA -- A Bradenton couple have agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a Medicare fraud suit the federal government brought against them.

Orthopedist Owen McCarthy and his wife, Dottie, also agreed to pay $82,500 in attorneys fees to Dr. Craig Boulris, a former associate who reported the couple's billing practices to the FBI.

In a noncriminal lawsuit, the government accused the McCarthys of overbilling Medicare by more than $250,000 from 1993 to 1998, while Dottie McCarthy was overseeing her husband's billing.

Since the suit was filed, she has blamed the overcharges on lessons she learned at a billing class.

Tuesday, she called the settlement the end to an ugly chapter of her life.

"I have been to hell and back for four years," she said.

As part of the agreement, the Bradenton socialite also agreed to limit her visits to Advanced Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, her husband's Manatee Avenue office.

"Now we're over it," she said. "We've passed this. Now we're focused on working for the community."

The two frequently open their $2 million riverfront home for elaborate fund-raisers, and McCarthy said she would rather give her money to charity than continue to pay for legal battles.

Since Boulris filed the suit, the McCarthys have changed lawyers four times and even blamed President Bill Clinton, who was in office at the time, for the government's decision to join in. In a statement, Owen McCarthy called the Clinton administration "despotic rulers that target a segment of the population."

The federal case took them to county courthouses as well. Two sets of former attorneys sued the couple for $40,000 in unpaid legal bills. The McCarthys settled that case last year.

The couple agreed to the latest settlement in August, but its terms were not finalized until Tuesday afternoon.

Under the federal Whistleblower Act, Boulris is entitled to receive at least $90,000 -- 15 percent of the settlement -- for turning in the McCarthys. If a judge agrees, the government can reward him with as much as $150,000.

"I really don't think he deserves it," Dottie McCarthy said. "He did this just because he wanted the money."

Boulris could not be reached for comment.