Pittsford Psychiatrist Charged With Healthcare Fraud

A Pittsford psychiatrist has been charged with health care fraud and making false statements relating to healthcare matters. Dr. Muhammad A. Cheema, 45, of Pittsford, NY, was charged by criminal complaint with the charges carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. Dr. Cheema is a licensed physician who provides psychiatric services at his private practice, Upstate Psychiatry in Pittsford, NY, as well as at Rochester Regional Health, and various nursing homes. He was paid over $855,000 by multiple pharmaceutical companies for 341 promotional speaking engagements and 62 consulting opportunities between August 2013 and December 2016.

According to the complaint, the FBI began an investigation after learning from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield that the defendant routinely and systematically changed office visit billing codes, billed insurance companies for telephone appointments as office visits, and regularly had 30 or more patients on his daily schedule despite the fact that his daily private practice office hours were 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A 2015 audit conducted by Excellus on eight patients during a six-month time period revealed an overpayment of 54% to the defendant for services not rendered and upcoding of office visits.

Subsequent investigation by the FBI revealed that the defendant routinely upcoded office visits of patients, improperly billed health care benefit programs for services that he did not provide, and, on more than one occasion, prescribed drugs to an undercover patient without performing a physical exam or psychotherapy.

In addition, the defendant submitted a fraudulent certificate which purported to show him to be board certified in Psychiatry. In fact, the defendant was not board certified in Psychiatry, has never passed the ABPN certifying examination in Psychiatry or Neurology. The FBI investigation determined that the document submitted by the defendant was fraudulent, and was generated on his desktop computer using a valid Certificate belonging to a psychiatrist in Arizona.

Dr. Cheema is due back in court on September 25, 2018, at 9:30 a.m.

“These charges highlight our continued commitment to ensuring that those who seek unjustly to enrich themselves by perpetrating frauds against the health care system are brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Kennedy.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Gary Loeffert, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the direction of Superintendent Maria T. Vullo.

The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and was released on conditions.