The couple accused of performing unnecessary procedures, overbilling and distributing opioids illegally.
An Indian American doctor couple has been charged with healthcare fraud in Ohio.
Dr. Ashis K. Rakhit and his wife, Dr. Jayati Gupta Rakhit, who had been practicing in Cleveland and two other small cities in Cuyahoga County — Parma and Stronsgville — have been found performing tests that their patients didn’t need and billing insurance companies for the cost of the tests, reported news5cleveland.com.
They recorded false symptoms such as shortness of breath, palpitations, and hypertension in patients’ records in order to perform the unnecessary tests, including nuclear stress tests, cardiac catheterizations, bone density scans and EKGs, according to the prosecution.
The couple committed these frauds during the period from 2001 to 2011 to 2018, the report said..
“They were performing medically unnecessary tests, including cardiac catheterizations, nuclear stress tests, EKG,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “They were then fraudulently billing for those services to insurance companies, and doing what’s called up-coding on the services, so getting a higher reimbursement for the services they performed.â€
They have been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 11 counts of healthcare, six counts of making false statements to healthcare matters and three counts of distributing controlled substances.
According to the federal indictment, the couple also cheated insurance companies with inflated medical bills.
“These doctors took an oath to do no harm, and they’ve turned around, and they’ve violated the trust of their patients and the overall community,” Herdman said.
The couple also illegally distributed opioids, including Percocet, Tramadol and Xanax to patients in Northeast Ohio in 2017.
“Not only did these physicians put their patients through unnecessary medical procedures so they could line their pockets with extra income, they also prescribed controlled narcotics that were not medically required,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D Anthony was quoted as saying.
The authorities have ordered the couple to surrender their passports, travel visas, and DEA prescription pads. They are currently being held on bond.