Former Illinois pharmacist escapes heavy jail time.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Raghuveer Nayak, the disgraced former pharmacist who pleaded guilty last year to charges of bribing doctors and physicians for referrals to his surgical clinics, was sentenced on Monday to two years in prison, $500,000 fine and an additional $23,000 in punitive damages to the IRS.
The sentence is significantly less than what prosecutors sought for the 59 year-old Indian-American, who owned clinics in Illinois and Indiana and is well-known for his ties to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson, Jr.
According to prosecutors, Nayak spent a decade bribing doctors to the tune of over $80,000 for referrals to clinics he owned. Additionally, he spent some $3 million in advertising for these very doctors, to increase their business and, consequently, his own.
While a sentence of 5 ½ to six years was requested, federal agents were able to alleviate some of that jail sentence. Nayak was approached to help them in their case against Blagojevich, who is serving a 14-year prison term for various corruption charges. Nayak and one of his associates, Rajinder Bedi, testified that Jackson met with them in October 2008 to discuss raising funds for Blagojevich so that when then-Senator Barack Obama got elected to the Presidency, Blagojevich would appoint Jackson to the vacant Senator position.
Bedi then allegedly assisted Nayak in avoiding taxes, by cooking his books and ultimately receiving as much as a 70% kickback for his services. Bedi is still going through legal proceedings for his role in the many crimes, but won a small victory last week when prosecutors agreed to drop the charges related to Bedi receiving those kickbacks.
Nayak was arrested back in June of 2012, and originally faced as much as 20 years behind bars. Even his bail was set at an incredibly stiff $10 million. Although he was never charged in connection with the Blagojevich/Jackson scandal, prosecutors maintained that much of the money he was illicitly making with his bribery scheme was funding the Blagojevich and Jackson campaigns. His help in convicting Blagojevich, however, played a crucial role in the relatively light sentence he ultimately received earlier this week.
In handing down the sentence, US District Judge Robert Gettleman did not mince words. He accused Nayak of abusing the implicit trust between a doctor and their patient, saying the latter should be guaranteed to best care and that Nayak compromised that by using his greed to assure his clinics would get patients even if there were other ones better suited to treat them.
Tearful and apologetic, Nayak accepted responsibility for his actions. “These mistakes are mine and mine alone,” he told the court, saying that he “stand[s] before you asking for forgiveness.” His sentencing hearing was attended by roughly two-dozen members of his immediate and extended family, along with friends and other supporters.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com
1 Comment
I worked for raghu nayak, he is a pig and deserves to die In jail