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Former Doctor Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Illicitly Dispensing Medications
HAMMOND, Ind.—A suspended physician who owned weight loss clinics in northwest Indiana and south suburban Chicago was sentenced to two years in federal prison for illegally dispensing millions of pills to patients, and his wife was also sentenced for federal income tax evasion relating to their operation of the clinics.
Rakesh Anand, 57, a suspended physician in Illinois and who was also licensed in Indiana, and his wife, Meena Anand, 53, both of Tinley Park, were sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen in Federal Court in Hammond after both defendants pleaded guilty in January.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago is handling the prosecution in the Northern District of Indiana. Judge Van Bokkelen fined Rakesh Anand $750,000 and ordered him to begin serving his two-year sentence on Aug. 30. Meena Anand was fined $100,000 and ordered to begin serving her 30-day sentence on Sept. 3.
In addition to the fines, forfeiture, and restitution, the Anands remain civilly liable to the Internal Revenue Service for any and all back taxes and a civil fraud penalty of up to 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest.
The Anands had agreed, and the judge ordered them to pay restitution of $745,872 to the IRS for taxes they owed on nearly $2 million of unreported income between 2005 and 2008. The restitution is to be paid from funds in a brokerage account when the Anands were indicted in August 2011.
In addition, they agreed to forfeit more than $4.45 million in additional funds that were frozen or seized during the investigation, bringing the total amount of funds being applied to forfeiture and restitution to nearly $5.2 million.
Rakesh Anand admitted that between January 2002 and February 2010, he and another physician, Dr. Dinesh Saraiya, purchased and dispensed more than 1 million pills containing Phendimetrazine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and more than 3 million pills containing Phentermine, a Schedule IV controlled substance.
The Anands grossed more than $5 million from their operation of the three weight loss clinics.
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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