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Two St. Louis Doctors Admit Medicare Fraud
ST. LOUIS, Missouri – Two St. Louis area doctors have pleaded guilty to federal health crimes, admitting to conspiracies to commit Medicare fraud and distribute controlled substances.
Dr. Asim Muhammad Ali, 54, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and to maintain a drug-involved premises. Dr. Mohd Azfar Malik, 71, pleaded guilty in April to two counts of making false statements related to health care matters.
According to the plea agreements, Dr. Ali admitted to agreeing to perform health care services for Medicare patients of a company owned by Dr. Malik, Psych Care Consultants LLC, but bill using Dr. Malik’s name and Medicare billing number. The doctors billed Medicare for ‘annual wellness visits,’ a yearly appointment in which the health care provider develops, creates, or updates a personalized prevention plan and performs tasks including a cognitive function assessment. Dr. Ali did not see the patients in person but called and asked a series of questions.
Dr. Malik admitted submitting claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers in which he falsely claimed to have performed in-person services when he was out of Missouri or out of the country. In one example in the plea agreement, Dr. Malik admitted submitting a claim to Missouri Medicaid for an initial inpatient hospital visit on Dec. 3, 2023. Dr. Malik was in Hawaii at the time.
Dr. Ali also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances, one count of illegally prescribing controlled substances, one count of paying illegal kickbacks for referrals, and one count of submitting false claims in a separate 2020 case. He admitted involvement in a conspiracy to pay kickbacks for urine specimens referred for testing to one of his companies, Central Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Ali also pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances to be given to patients on their next visit to one of his other businesses, the Institute for Pain Management LLC.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric is prosecuting Thursday’s case.
Dr. Ali is scheduled to be sentenced on August 25 for both cases. Dr. Malik is scheduled to be sentenced on August 11. The total loss caused by the doctors’ actions was $23,344.
The guilty pleas come as a significant blow to the medical community, highlighting the need for stricter regulations and oversight to prevent similar crimes in the future.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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