Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
International

Indian-American Couple Ordered To Pay $7.75 Million For Healthcare Fraud

Darpan News Desk IANS, 14 Jul, 2016 01:13 PM
    An Indian-American couple, who owned a mobile diagnostic testing company in New Jersey, has been ordered by a US court to pay USD 7.75 million for committing a multi-million health care fraud.
     
    Kirtish N Patel and Nita K Patel, both aged 53, had earlier pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud.
     
    The government's civil complaint had alleged that they created fraudulent diagnostic test reports, forged physician signatures on these reports and then billed Medicare for the fraudulent reports.
     
    They also billed Medicare for neurological tests that they conducted without the required physician supervision, the Justice Department said.
     
    The lawsuit was filed under whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.
     
    The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in this case. The whistleblower who brought the misconduct to the government's attention will receive 15 to 25 per cent of the more than USD 7.7 million recovered by the government.
     
    According to the documents filed in the case and statements made in the court from 2006 through June 2014, Nita and Kirtish owned and operated Biosound Medical Services Inc and Heart Solutions in New Jersey, which were mobile diagnostic companies and approved medicare providers.
     
    As per court documents, Biosound technicians would travel to the office of a primary care physician in the New York and New Jersey area to conduct diagnostic testing. Biosound was responsible for sending the tests to a reading physician, an appropriate specialist who would interpret the results.
     
     
    "After the reading physician prepared a report, Biosound was responsible for providing it to the referring physician. Biosound was paid millions of dollars by Medicare and other payers for the diagnostic testing, the reading physician's interpretation of the results and the reports, the prosecutors said.
     
    Kirtish admitted to fraudulently interpreting and writing diagnostic reports produced by Biosound despite having no medical license and knowing that the reports would be used by the referring physicians to make important patient treatment decisions.
     
    Nita assisted her husband in forging physician signatures on the fraudulently produced reports to make them appear legitimate.
     
    The couple admitted falsely representing to Medicare that the neurological testing performed by Biosound was being supervised by a licensed neurologist, the Justice Department said.
     
    According to reports, more than half of the diagnostic reports generated by Biosound between October 2008 and June 2014 were never actually reviewed or interpreted by a physician.
     
    Nita and Kirtish were paid more than USD 4,386,133.75 by Medicare and private insurance companies for the fraudulent reports, which they used for personal expenses, including multiple residences and luxury vehicles, it said.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Protesters Punch, Throw Eggs At Donald Trump Supporters In San Jose

    Protesters Punch, Throw Eggs At Donald Trump Supporters In San Jose
    There were no immediate reports of injuries and no major property damage, police said.

    Protesters Punch, Throw Eggs At Donald Trump Supporters In San Jose

    'Crushing Them': Canadian Top Soldier Surprised By Iraqi Army's Push Against Islamic State

    'Crushing Them': Canadian Top Soldier Surprised By Iraqi Army's Push Against Islamic State
    OTTAWA — When Brig.-Gen. Greg Smith first touched down in Iraq in February to advise and assist the Iraqi army in its fight against Islamic State militants, he assumed that ISIL had the upper hand.

    'Crushing Them': Canadian Top Soldier Surprised By Iraqi Army's Push Against Islamic State

    Struggling Indian-American PhD Student Shoots Professor, Self In US

    Struggling Indian-American PhD Student Shoots Professor, Self In US
    On the UCLA website, Sarkar was listed as part of the Klug Research Group, a team of six post-doctoral and PhD students researching biomechanics.

    Struggling Indian-American PhD Student Shoots Professor, Self In US

    Tiger Temple: Cat-fight Erupts Between Monastery, Thai Wildlife Authorities

    Tiger Temple: Cat-fight Erupts Between Monastery, Thai Wildlife Authorities
    The hate mail on social networking sites against the Buddhist monks and authorities managing Thailand's famous Tiger Temple complex in Kanchanaburi province is increasing by the hour.

    Tiger Temple: Cat-fight Erupts Between Monastery, Thai Wildlife Authorities

    New Jersey Doc: Baby Born To Mom With Zika Looks 'affected'

    HACKENSACK, N.J. — A baby born to a mother with the Zika virus at a New Jersey hospital appears to be affected by the disease, according to a doctor who helped lead the delivery team.

    New Jersey Doc: Baby Born To Mom With Zika Looks 'affected'

    Merve Buyuksarac, Ex-Miss Turkey Sentenced To 14-Moths In Jail For Insulting President Erdogan

    Merve Buyuksarac, Ex-Miss Turkey Sentenced To 14-Moths In Jail For Insulting President Erdogan
    The court in Istanbul found 27-year-old model Merve Buyuksarac guilty of insulting a public official but immediately suspended the sentence on condition that she does not reoffend within the next five years.

    Merve Buyuksarac, Ex-Miss Turkey Sentenced To 14-Moths In Jail For Insulting President Erdogan