Dr. Bashir Azher, Medicare Fraud, Arizona 2015

Bullhead City physician, Dr. Bashir Azher, has agreed to pay $207,988 to resolve civil allegations that he violated the federal False Claims Act by submitting false bills to Medicare for prostate laser ablation procedures, commonly known as Green Light prostatectomies.

Dr. Azher, 69, an Arizona-licensed physician practicing in Bullhead City, Ariz., allegedly submitted false claims for reimbursement for procedures that were too short to generate a therapeutic benefit, failed to meet professionally recognized standards of care, were medically unnecessary, and/or violated applicable Medicare regulations.

The settlement agreement resolves allegations that from February 2006 through July 2014, Dr. Azher knowingly submitted materially false claims for reimbursement for prostate laser ablation procedures.

The case was investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Dr. Arnaldo Trabucco, M.D., a whistleblower, filed a qui tam suit under the False Claims Act, which allows private citizens to bring civil actions on behalf of the United States and share in any recovery obtained.

Dr. Trabucco will receive a share of the settlement payment that resolves the qui tam suit he filed. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona and is captioned United States ex rel. Trabucco v. PHC Fort Mohave, Inc., et al. (CV-14-8094-PCT-DGC).

“This settlement is the latest of our office’s longstanding and ongoing efforts to protect taxpayer dollars and recoup them when misappropriated,” said United States Attorney John S. Leonardo.

“When physicians fail to meet professionally recognized standards of care while providing medically unnecessary procedures, taxpayers’ dollars are wasted and the public’s trust in the medical profession is at risk,” said Timothy B. DeFrancesca, Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The settlement is neither an admission of liability by Dr. Azher nor a concession by the United States that its claims are unfounded.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, the case was investigated by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

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