A New York surgeon is being held without bail after being accused of bilking Medicare for millions related to surgical procedures he did not perform, according to a March 25 article in the New York Daily News.
Authorities claim Long Island-based weight loss surgery specialist Dr. Syed Imran Ahmed allegedly billed Medicare for approximately $85 million between 2011 and 2013 and was paid in excess of $7 million for claims during that time.
According to the New York Daily News article, Dr. Ahmed is being held without bail because prosecutors fear he may attempt to flee to his native Pakistan if released.
Dr. Ahmed was investigated by authorities after they were alerted to a pair of complaints from patients that claimed the surgeon did not perform the operations listed on their Medicare documents. A federal complaint states he billed Medicare for over 480 procedures he allegedly performed on an unidentified patient between June 2011 and October of that year. However, the hospital’s operating log disputes that number and shows only four surgical procedures took place.
A similar case involving a New York surgeon accused of botching and faking surgical procedures was resolved earlier this month. Dr. Spyros Panos was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail for one count of healthcare fraud.
In addition, the former New York orthopedic surgeon was fined $250,000 and agreed to surrender any and all of his medical licenses not suspended at the time of sentencing. Dr. Panos also must pay $5 million in restitution to the federal government for falsifying Medicare charges.
Source: New York Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/surgeon-cheated-medicare-millions-authorities-article-1.1734615