Dr. Sangita Patel Of MI Accused Of $448K Medicare Fraud
TROY, MI (IANS) – An Indian American doctor has been indicted for allegedly running a scheme to submit bogus claims to Medicare and faces a 10-year felony charge.
Dr Sangita Patel, 50, allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims for telehealth visits from the Advance Medical Home Physicians Center, located in Troy, according to a criminal complaint authored by the FBI.
From April 2020 till early February 2023, Patel allegedly submitted more than $1 million in false claims to Medicare for telehealth services she did not provide, Michigan Live reported.
Medicare paid more than $448,000 on those fraudulent claims. Patel would delegate a person in Tuscola County to call Medicare beneficiaries on her behalf, according to cellular phone evidence. After these calls, Patel would submit claims as if she had provided telehealth visits to the Medicare beneficiaries whom the individual had called.
About 76 percent of Patel’s Medicare reimbursements were for telehealth-related claims from about July 1, 2020, till June 30, 2022.
These payments were about nine times the payments for the prior two-year period, as per the complaint.
The complaint further said that Patel prescribed Schedule II controlled substances to more than 90 percent of the patients involved in her telehealth insurance claims.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Schedule II drugs have legitimate medical uses but are considered to have a high potential for abuse.
The Michigan Live reported that from 2019 through July 2022, Patel issued prescriptions for more than 590,000 tablets of prescription drugs. Of these, 70 percent were for Schedule II drugs.
“These are serious allegations, and my office is committed to prosecuting any medical professional who attempts to exploit Medicare, a taxpayer-funded program that provides essential services to seniors and disabled individuals,” US Attorney Dawn N. Ison was quoted as saying in Michigan Live.
Patel’s fraud came to light after an informant reported that she was accepting cash in exchange for prescription drugs. The FBI and US Department of Health then began a probe on November 21.
“Physicians and other medical professionals who fraudulently bill our federal healthcare programs are stealing from taxpayers and robbing vulnerable patients of necessary medical care,” James A Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office, told Michigan Live.
Currently, Patel is free on a $10,000 unsecured bond, and her next court hearing is due on March 1.
ashok kumar
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here we go again. I hope she gets sentenced to 100 years so she can enjoy the loot in the jail. I can’t believe the greed these people have.
February 23, 2023PEMBA
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Indians are corrupt.
February 23, 2023Shiv Bhatt. NPI 1013022557
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You are a racist. How can you generalize all Indians. Most narcotic prescribers are the pcps ,PAs and nurse practiceners and pain management doctors.
February 26, 2023Don’t blame few Indians
Indians are hard working law abiding citizens.
So you Mr Pemba don’t make a blanket statement. It indicates your ignorance and racism
VIJAY
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I take exception to your general statement. Most of the Indian people are hardworking law-abiding taxpaying citizens. I don’t know of even a single Indian who is on welfare. We pay a relatively large share of taxes. We don’t break laws. Sure, there are some bad apples. Sir/Madam, I find your statement insulting.
February 24, 2023Shiv Bhatt. NPI 1013022557
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To Pemba
Do you think we should call Africans fraudsters and cheat. I get emails all times from Africa asking for money to recover large amount of money for a wealthy widow whose husband died suddenly without leaving a will and some cock and bull stories like this.
Is everyone from Africa is crook. Hell no.
I know some wonderful people from Africa
So Pemba please don’t blame all Indians
God Bless You
February 26, 2023ashok kumar
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bhatt , i do not know what practice you have . I have been here for 51 yers . Most of the Indian doctors are greedy,poorly trained. Only 10 % are worth anything. Indian boys or girls going to medical school in us are much better trained than most of the doctors from India.this is honest to God truth. Africans who call you are mostly from one country.
March 2, 2023Kreshayla Boykin
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This is really sad because I knew her and she was a very great person. She assisted every patient as if they were close friends/family and really was a firm believer in holistic health, forks over knives, clean dieting. She also gave great advice as to heal from disease to get off traditional medicine. The laws are strict on “drugs” yet they are legal, some pain is worse than others, and when your in pain what works just works. She should NOT be incarcerated because I know that what she was doing was from the heart and probably not thinking of breaking any laws. Just like with any doctor it was overwhelming, and she asked for help from her assistant. I think that before the assumption and accusations we should here what “she” has to say. I know that if she could get a do over she would have done it differently, but she was genuinely caring for patients that didn’t find trust in other doctors that run up the check in other ways, ie: giving pain shots in exchange for the medicine that takes the pain away and bills for double procedures.
April 29, 2023