By Sharon Aron Baron
A Coral Springs man faces charges related to a major durable medical equipment (DME) kickback operation that inflicted a staggering $97 million in losses to Medicare.
In an announcement from Vikas Khanna, Attorney for the United States, the indictment, unsealed on February 21, presents a series of allegations against resident Raheel Naviwala, 35. These include conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and illegal kickbacks, totaling ten counts.
Naviwala and his associates reportedly ran numerous call centers to procure orders for orthotic braces for Medicare beneficiaries. These orders were secured without considering the medical necessity through marketing call centers and telemedicine companies in exchange for bribes ranging from $125 to $450 per brace.
This operation resulted in more than $97 million in losses to Medicare and allegedly netted over $46 million in kickbacks for Naviwala and his conspirators.
The charges against Naviwala carry severe penalties, with the conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud charges alone potentially leading to 20 years in prison. Each health care fraud and wire fraud count could result in up to 20 years, while the conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and each count of illegal kickbacks could lead to 5 and 10 years in prison, respectively, in addition to possible fines.
The investigation that led to Naviwala’s charges was a collaborative effort involving the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Special agents under the direction of James E. Dennehy in Newark and Maged Behnam in Miami, among others, were instrumental in the investigation.
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