Padma Shri Raj Bothra acquitted of all charges in US trial
Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Jul, 2022 08:57 PM
Rajendra Bothra, an Indian-origin doctor, and three other physicians were acquitted of charges related to federal allegations they operated a Warren-based prescription drug mill, the media reported.
Bothra of Bloomfield Hills the accused mastermind; along with Ganiu Edu of Southfield, Davi Lewis of Detroit and Christopher Russo of Birmingham were found not guilty by a jury, Macomb Daily reported.
The verdicts followed a six-week trial in front of Judge Stephen Murphy in US District Court in Detroit.
Bothra's attorney, Arthur Weiss, said he and his client are "ecstatic" over the verdict but upset that he has been in federal detention for 43 months while awaiting trial. The other defendants were free on personal bonds.
Bothra was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 1999.
"We're glad the jury looked at the evidence and made the appropriate decision in a relatively short amount of time," Weiss said. "Where does he go to reclaim those 43 months?"
Bothra was released from detention on Wednesday. Over the course of the proceedings, the India native repeatedly attempted to gain freedom while awaiting trial but was denied by the judge.
US attorneys were concerned about Bothra's risk of flight since he often had visited India since moving to the US several decades ago and lied about the extent of his travel, Macomb Daily reported.
Bothra owned and operated The Pain Center, based in Warren and with other locations, including in Eastpointe, and employed the other doctors.
The group collectively was charged with over 50 counts, with each of them facing one count each of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, mostly the opioid Norco, and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The other counts were distribution of controlled substances and health care fraud.
Bothra faced the most counts and Edu faced the second most counts.
Assistant US Attorney Brandy McMillion said the doctors handed out drugs like a "McDonald's drive thru" and compared the operation to an assembly line.
She said the doctors forced patients suffering back pain to undergo radio frequency ablations on their backs in exchange for drugs, and unnecessarily prescribed back braces to patients, Macomb Daily reported.
US attorneys said the defendants illicitly prescribed over 13 million pills and made false claims to illegally collect over $20 million from Medicare, over $17 million from Medicaid and over $15 million from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, from 2013 to 2018.
Students at the Ternopil Medical University in Ukraine capital Kyiv are in constant touch with the Indian Embassy. The varsity is also extending assistance to the students. There are around 20,000 Indian nationals in Ukraine. Most of them are medical students.
The announcement marks this week's one-year anniversary of a supply chain review that found the U.S. is overly dependent on foreign sources, especially China.
Court documents allege there were also two undocumented Indian nationals in the van, along with snacks and provisions. Not far away, in southern Manitoba, RCMP and border officials discovered four frozen bodies, later identified as a couple and their two children from India, who investigators believe were part of a larger group making their way to the United States.
Around 20 medical students from Bareilly and Rampur district are stuck in Ukraine, following border tension with Russia. They want the government of India to evacuate them, according to family members. There are currently around 50 students from Bareilly studying in Ukraine.
The flight ticket prices have risen from Rs 50,000 to over Rs 70,000 and the students say it is this financial hurdle that is forcing them to stay put despite the advisory by the Indian government. On normal days, the flight tickets would cost Rs 21,000-Rs 26,000. But now, due to the Russia-Ukraine tensions, the rates have jacked up.
Former Amazon employee Rohit Kadimisetty has been sentenced to 10 months in prison with a fine of $50,000 for a fraud and bribery scheme targeting the e-commerce giant's online Marketplace. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement that Kadimisetty, 28, of Northridge, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in September 2021.
