New York, America, 8 January 2012

Chirag Patel, executive director of a health diagnostic testing center in Orange, N.J., 13 physicians — including a large Indo-American doctors contingent — and one nurse practitioner have been charged in a bribery scheme to illegally direct patients to the radiology facility.

Patel, 36, a resident of Warren, N.J., head of the Orange Community MRI, was arrested Dec. 8 and later released on $750,000 bond, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported.

Other defendants include Shashi K. Agarwal, 59, of Edison; Maryam Jafari, 41, of Hoboken; Ramescha Kania, 58, of Livingston; Yash Khanna, 69, of Livingston; Dinesh Patel, 57, of Livingston; and Padma Siripurapu, 44, of Belle Mead.

The health care practitioners allegedly received kickbacks to refer patients to Orange Community MRI for diagnostic testing, said U.S. Attorney for the New Jersey District Paul Fishman.

The 14 defendants were arrested Dec. 13 and charged with receiving monthly bribes for referring patients to the facility.

The investigation, authorities said, is ongoing and they haven’t yet determined if the alleged referrals were made for insured patients who needed testing or for patients simply referred to increase business. In either case, the practice is illegal.

“It is illegal for medical professionals to sell referrals for cash,” Fishman told the Star-Ledger.

The total amount of money paid in the alleged scheme is not yet known, but officials said they have concluded that between early October and early December last year, 32 payments were made to or by 15 defendants totaling $51,500.

The 14 healthcare workers, after their hearings Dec. 13, were released. Kania, alleged to have received cash payments totaling $1,750, said the charges were “unfounded” and “ridiculous.”

According to court documents, a corroborating witness allegedly discussed with Chirag Patel payments for tests done in October. Patel said he wanted the individual to increase the volume of ultrasound tests referred to the center. “Look, doctor, end of the day, you and me are businessmen,” Patel allegedly said. “You want to make sure we both are happy.”

Patel could not be reached for comment Dec. 13, the Star-Ledger said.

Peter Budetti, deputy administrator for Medicare program integrity at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said a “more advanced and sophisticated” screening program to detect fraudulent activity among Medicare providers has been in place since June. Another program using wider databases will be implemented at the start of the year, he added.