Indian-origin doctor gets 14 years in prison for opioid fraud in US
New York: Convicted for multiple healthcare frauds, including a $2.3 million conspiracy involving the illegal distribution of Oxycodone, an Indian-origin doctor was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a U.S. federal court in Pennsylvania after being found guilty of the charges.
Along with the prison term, the court ordered Dr Neil Anand to pay more than $2 million in restitution to insurers and another $2 million in forfeiture, allowing the government to seize his illegally obtained assets.
Oxycodone is an opioid painkiller that can be highly addictive and is one of the substances behind the drug epidemic sweeping the US.
Also read- Indian-Origin Doctor Convicted in $2.3 million healthcare fraud case
Medical Dialogues in April reported that 48-year-old Dr Neil Anand was convicted of conspiracy, health care fraud, money laundering, unlawful monetary transactions, and distributing controlled substances in a federal court in Pennsylvania. In the conspiracy to illegally distribute drugs, he issued pre-signed medical prescriptions for oxycodone that were used by interns to enable just nine patients to collect 20,850 tablets.
Anand also issued "medically unnecessary prescription medications" in what prosecutors called "Goody Bags" through pharmacies he owned if they wanted to get the controlled drugs, and billed health insurance companies and government insurance plans for the unneeded medicines.
The insurance companies and plans paid $2.3 million for the medicines in the "Goody Bags". When Anand became aware of the investigation, he transferred about $1.2 million to an account in his father's name and for the benefit of his minor daughter, to conceal the proceeds from the fraud, according to the prosecutors.
He was originally charged in 2019 with four others, three of whom were described as medical graduates of foreign universities without a license to practice medicine in the US.
During the recent sentencing, Anand defended his actions as an act of compassion. In court, he claimed that his actions were misrepresented. He cited his work treating 9/11 victims in New York and later service in the U.S. Navy.
He told the court, “The law has spoken for now, but the deeper questions remain: What is healing? What is justice? Where's the line between mercy and misconduct?”
In response, US District Judge Chad F. Kenney slammed him for prioritising profit over patients and dismissed Anand’s claims that his actions were driven by compassion.
“For you, their pain was your gain. You were not focused during this period on treating your patients," said the Judge as reported by Moneycontrol.
In addition to conspiracy charges, Anand was found guilty of three counts of health care fraud, one count of money laundering, four counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
Also read- Indian-American Doctor pleads guilty to submitting claims for fraudulent prescriptions
