Divyesh 'David' C. Patel, Health Care Fraud, Ohio 2023
Convicted felon and Orange Village man, Divyesh 'David' C. Patel, has been sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution for health care fraud.
A 40-year-old resident of Orange, Ohio, Patel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud last year. He was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $1.9 million in restitution.
According to court documents, Patel employed Belita Mable Bush as the office manager and director of provider services for his company, Alpine Nursing Care, Inc. However, Patel knew that Bush had been previously convicted of a health care-related felony that excluded her from being involved in any way with the company's Medicaid and Medicare billings.
Patel and Alpine Nursing Care, Inc. were accused of defrauding the public out of nearly $2 million by forging signatures, billing for services that were never provided, or were performed by aides with criminal records.
“This defendant defrauded the public out of nearly $2 million by forging signatures, billing for services that were never provided or were performed by aides with criminal records,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. “This sentence should send a message to those who would engage in health care fraud that they will end up in prison and stripped of the money they steal.”
Bush pleaded guilty to making a false statement and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 20. The case was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, Cleveland; Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland.
The United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio is prosecuting the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Bennett and Special Assistant General Constance Nearhood leading the prosecution.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Health Care Fraud
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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