September 04th, 2015
GREENBELT, MD—A federal jury convicted two doctors, Paramjit Singh Ajrawat, age 60, and his wife, Sukhveen Kaur Ajrawat, age 57, both of Potomac, Maryland, on charges related to their health care fraud scheme. Paramjit Singh Ajrawat was convicted of one count of health care fraud, two counts of making a false statement related to a health care program, one count of obstruction of justice, four counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Sukhveen Kaur Ajrawat was convicted of one count of health care fraud, four counts of making a false statement related to a health care program, one count of obstruction of justice, four counts of obstructing an audit, four counts of wire fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The convictions are in connection with the pain clinic they owned and operated.
P. Ajrawat was a licensed physician in Maryland who specialized in interventional pain management. S. Ajrawat was a licensed psychiatrist in Maryland. The Ajrawats owned and operated Washington Pain Management Center (WPMC) located in Greenbelt.
According to evidence presented at the eight day trial, from at least January 2011 through May 2014, the Ajrawats defrauded federal health benefit programs including: Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. The Ajrawats filed claims for procedures that were not performed. Specifically, the Ajrawats performed less expensive procedures but falsely billed for procedures that provided higher reimbursement amounts. The Ajrawats also submitted claims indicating that they had met the requirements for reimbursement, when in fact, they had not met those requirements. Finally, the Ajrawats submitted claims for procedures that had not been performed at all.
For example, the Ajrawats submitted claims that P. Ajrawat had performed nerve block injections with the use of an imaging guidance machine, when in fact he neither owned nor used such a machine. The Ajrawats also falsely documented patient files to indicate that an imaging guidance machine had been used to verify needle placement and caused the alteration or destruction of patient files to conceal the scheme from auditors and law enforcement.
The government seeks forfeiture of at least $2.5 million, the proceeds of the scheme.
The defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count of health care fraud, five years in prison for each count of making a false statement related to a health care program; and 20 years in prison for each count of obstruction of justice and each count of wire fraud. Additionally, S. Ajrawat faces five years in prison for each count of obstructing a federal audit. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for February 1, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. back...
P. Ajrawat was a licensed physician in Maryland who specialized in interventional pain management. S. Ajrawat was a licensed psychiatrist in Maryland. The Ajrawats owned and operated Washington Pain Management Center (WPMC) located in Greenbelt.
According to evidence presented at the eight day trial, from at least January 2011 through May 2014, the Ajrawats defrauded federal health benefit programs including: Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. The Ajrawats filed claims for procedures that were not performed. Specifically, the Ajrawats performed less expensive procedures but falsely billed for procedures that provided higher reimbursement amounts. The Ajrawats also submitted claims indicating that they had met the requirements for reimbursement, when in fact, they had not met those requirements. Finally, the Ajrawats submitted claims for procedures that had not been performed at all.
For example, the Ajrawats submitted claims that P. Ajrawat had performed nerve block injections with the use of an imaging guidance machine, when in fact he neither owned nor used such a machine. The Ajrawats also falsely documented patient files to indicate that an imaging guidance machine had been used to verify needle placement and caused the alteration or destruction of patient files to conceal the scheme from auditors and law enforcement.
The government seeks forfeiture of at least $2.5 million, the proceeds of the scheme.
The defendants face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each count of health care fraud, five years in prison for each count of making a false statement related to a health care program; and 20 years in prison for each count of obstruction of justice and each count of wire fraud. Additionally, S. Ajrawat faces five years in prison for each count of obstructing a federal audit. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for February 1, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. back...
