Fazal Panezai, Healthcare Fraud, New Jersey 2023

TRENTON, N.J. – A New Jersey cardiologist has been sentenced to 35 months in prison for orchestrating a health care fraud scheme causing over $1.9 million in insurance reimbursements for false claims, officials announced.

Dr. Fazal Panezai, 76, of Morganville, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to participating in a health care fraud scheme. Panezai owned and operated Matawan-Aberdeen Heart & Medical Center, a medical practice in New Jersey.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Panezai submitted false claims to at least six health insurance benefit programs for office visits that either never occurred or did not take place for the length of time that he claimed. For example, Panezai submitted claims for office visits lasting approximately 1,675 minutes – approximately 27.9 hours – for one day’s worth of office visits on May 27, 2022.

Panezai also billed health insurance providers over $80,000 for office visits when he was out of the country and not conducting any office visits. Panezai also submitted claims for office visits when patients only picked up a prescription for a controlled substance from the front desk and never met with him. The false claims caused insurance plans to issue reimbursement checks to the center, with Panezai keeping the illicit profits, which totaled more than $1.9 million.

In addition to the prison term, Panezai was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $1.95 million.

The investigation was led by special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark. The Matawan Police Department also assisted in the case.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys DeNae Thomas of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Jessica R. Ecker of the Criminal Division in Newark.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/matawan-cardiologist-sentenced-35-months-prison-defrauding-health-insurance-companies