Anil Prasad, Controlled Substance Scheme, Louisiana 2019

Mandeville Neurologist Pleads Guilty in Controlled Substance Scheme

A neurologist from Mandeville, Louisiana, has pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to unlawfully prescribe controlled substances and commit healthcare fraud.

According to court documents, Anil Prasad, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Sentencing is set for September 4, 2019, before Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Prasad admitted to conspiring with others to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances at a medical clinic that was, in actuality, a pill mill. He rarely performed face-to-face examinations of patients at the clinic to determine whether any medical necessity existed for the controlled substances that he dispensed to them. Instead, Prasad pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances for patients, who would then pick up the prescriptions from the clinic after making a cash payment.

Prasad also admitted to pre-signing prescriptions before traveling internationally, and that patients would pick up those prescriptions while he was out of the country. He knew that certain patients who received the pre-signed prescriptions used their Medicare and Medicaid benefits to fill the prescriptions at area pharmacies. In total, Medicare and Medicaid paid approximately $1,657,461.15 for those prescriptions, Prasad admitted.

The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Louisiana Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division's Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a joint initiative between the Justice Department and HHS to focus their efforts on preventing and deterring fraud and enforcing current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion.

Defendant: Anil Prasad, M.D.

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances, Conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud

City and State: Mandeville, Louisiana

Date: September 4, 2019 (sentencing)

Sentence: TBA

Dollar Amount: $1,657,461.15 (Medicare and Medicaid payments)

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/mandeville-louisiana-neurologist-pleads-guilty-role-scheme-unlawfully-dispense-controlled