NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A cardiologist in Brooklyn was charged with health fraud and bribery in connection with a scheme to fabricate patient records, pay physicians for patient referrals, and bill for medically unnecessary procedures, prosecutors announced on Thursday.
Niranjan Mittal, 70, since 2016 allegedly made irregular payments under the guise of "leases" for office space to other providers, essentially as inducements for patient referrals, according to the indictment.
His staff would then allegedly visit these providers' offices, do basic tests on these patients, and persuade them to come to the Brooklyn Clinic for follow-up appointments.
“We put our faith in doctors and trust their expertise,” Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said. “As alleged, Dr. Niranjan Mittal betrayed that trust.”
Mittal’s clinic in Brooklyn primarily served patients who were insured by government healthcare programs.
According to the indictment, patients referred to Mittal's clinic often went through unnecessary diagnostic tests and follow-up visits, not based on actual treatment needs but rather to justify unneeded peripheral vascular interventional procedures.
These surgeries were supposedly for clearing blood vessel blockages in the legs which were often medically unnecessary.
Mittal is also accused of instructing staff to fabricate patient symptoms in medical records across different patients to cover up the fraud.
Many patients underwent these unnecessary procedures, some receiving 10 or more such procedures over several years, without any health improvements.
Mittal's clinic billed Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers over $100 million for these procedures.
The Civil Complaint revealed that Mittla allegedly billed for unnecessary cardiac diagnostic imaging studies, including PET scans, stress tests, echocardiograms, and carotid artery doppler studies.
In addition to the indictment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also filed a civil fraud complaint under the False Claim Act against Mittal, and Divanshu Bansal (who manages Mittal’s medical practice and supervises staff), and two entities - Niranjan K. Mittal, Physician, PLLC, doing business as CareCube, and New York Pet Imaging Center LLC. These entities own Mittal's medical practice and diagnostic testing facility.
Mittal is charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, one count of health care fraud, conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, and violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.