Indian American Doctor Settles Civil Fraud Allegations in Adult Homes Investigation

NEW YORK (TIP): Dr. Rajendra Bhayani, an otolaryngologist, has agreed to pay the United States $1,109,000 to resolve civil allegations that he and his practice – New York Otolaryngology & Aesthetic Surgery, P.C. in Brooklyn and Queens – paid kickbacks and submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs for services provided to residents in adult homes in violation of the False Claims Act.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the settlement.

“The disabled and elderly residents of adult homes are among the most vulnerable members of our society, and doctors who treat these residents as commodities by paying kickbacks so they can administer medically unnecessary services at taxpayer expense will be held accountable by this Office,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue.  Mr. Donoghue expressed his grateful appreciation to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), for their assistance with the case.

“Elderly citizens without the means to care for themselves should be given the best treatment possible by everyone involved in their care. Exposing them to unnecessary medical testing and services because they’re deemed an easy target is disgraceful behavior,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney.  “Putting one’s self interests above the welfare of others isn’t the way to do business, and in this case, it came with a hefty penalty.”

Adult homes are privately owned residential facilities licensed by the State of New York to provide long-term care and supervision to adults with disabilities or mental illnesses.  An investigation by the FBI revealed that from 2012 through 2016, Bhayani allegedly paid cash tips, excessive rent and other improper remuneration to medical management companies in adult homes in the Eastern District of New York to obtain exclusive access to bill for allergy testing and other medical services to residents in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.  Bhayani then obtained payment for these services from Medicare and the Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Program, although the services were actually performed by his nurse practitioner, and some of the services performed were medically unnecessary.

 

The Indian Panorama contacted Dr. Bhayani to seek a clarification from him. Here is what he  said in the email sent to Prof. Saluja, editor , January 23 at 6 PM ET.

“We are pleased to have resolved this matter with the federal government. To make it very clear, No admission of liability or wrongdoing was made as part of this negotiated resolution, which eliminated the time, resources and uncertainty that would be entailed in litigating these claims in court.”

30 Comments

  1. What i do not understood is in truth how you’re no longer actually a lot more smartly-favored than you might be now. You’re so intelligent. You understand therefore considerably with regards to this topic, made me for my part imagine it from a lot of varied angles. Its like men and women don’t seem to be interested unless it’s something to accomplish with Girl gaga! Your own stuffs excellent. At all times handle it up!

  2. I’ve been browsing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  3. Hello, There’s no doubt that your site might be having internet browser compatibility problems. Whenever I take a look at your blog in Safari, it looks fine however, when opening in I.E., it’s got some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Apart from that, fantastic blog!

  4. Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iphone and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!

  5. I absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. can you offer guest writers to write content available for you? I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write related to here. Again, awesome weblog!

  6. An interesting discussion is definitely worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you need to write more about this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but typically folks don’t discuss such subjects. To the next! All the best!!

  7. Heya i’m for the first time here. I found this board and I in finding It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot. I’m hoping to present one thing back and help others such as you helped me.

  8. Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic however , I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog post or vice-versa? My blog goes over a lot of the same subjects as yours and I believe we could greatly benefit from each other. If you are interested feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I look forward to hearing from you! Fantastic blog by the way!

  9. naturally like your website however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very troublesome to inform the reality on the other hand I’ll surely come again again.

  10. It’s appropriate time to make a few plans for the longer term and it’s time to be happy. I have read this put up and if I could I wish to suggest you some fascinating things or tips. Maybe you could write next articles relating to this article. I desire to read even more things approximately it!

  11. This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!

  12. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you will be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will come back sometime soon. I want to encourage that you continue your great posts, have a nice morning!

  13. It is in point of fact a great and useful piece of info. I’m glad that you simply shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.

  14. Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your theme. Thanks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.