Jury Convicts Local Doctor in $13 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/jury-convicts-local-doctor-13-million-health-care-fraud-scheme

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Jury Convicts Local Doctor in $13 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON – The final defendant charged in a $13 million Medicare and Medicaid health care fraud case has been found guilty on all eight counts as charged, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. A federal jury convicted Dr. Faiz Ahmed, 64, of Houston, today following a six-day trial and approximately five hours of deliberations.

Ahmed and eight co-defendants engaged in a conspiracy to falsely bill Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary diagnostic tests. At trial, the jury heard that Ahmed agreed to approve the testing and allowed his physician number to be used in the Medicare billing process to support the tests.

The lead defendant in the case - Mkrtich “Mike” Yepremian, 59, of Houston, paid marketers to bring patients to the clinics. He also, among others, paid the patients to submit to the tests. He pleaded guilty March 4, 2016, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and paying kickbacks to marketers of Medicare and Medicaid patients.
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Yepremian ran several false clinics in Houston and Conroe. He paid marketers, including Wilson, Doleman, Johnson and Taylor, to bring patients to the clinics for a battery of diagnostic tests and blood work, regardless of medical need. Yepremian paid the marketers approximately $100 for each patient brought to his clinics. In turn, the marketers paid the patients approximately $50 each.

Ahmed approved the medically unnecessary diagnostic testing. He ordered testing for approximately 400 patients, 80 percent of which included an EKG and PFT (series of breathing tests). Ahmed was not even their regular treating physician. The jury heard that no one was referred to these clinics, there was no appointment book, they did not collect any copays and that the patients usually arrived all at the same time along with marketers.
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