Nine health care professionals arrested for alleged violation of federal kickback statute Tuesday

• Tweet
• 

Nine Michigan health care professionals, including those from Mount Pleasant and Edmore, were indicted Tuesday for conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

Babubhai Rathod, Rajesh Makwana, Raju Nakum, Lino S. Dial Jr., Niti Thakur, Andre Blair Smith and Muhammad Salman Rais were charged with conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.

The federal Indictment alleges that Rathod owned and operated medical clinics, outpatient rehabilitation facilities and home health care companies that paid employees and outside health care providers for the referral of patients.

Some of his companies include Lakeshore Spine and Pain and U.S. Rehab Services, 555 S. Mission St. The Mount Pleasant office was raided Tuesday by the FBI.

The indictment further alleged the kickback payments were falsely disguised as reimbursement for other purported expenses, including mileage, medical director fees, continuing medical education and contractual labor.

“The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the payment of any remuneration that is designed to induce or reward medical referral decisions involving Medicare, Medicaid and other federally-funded health care programs,” said U.S. Attorney Don Davis in a release from State Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office.

The defendants appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh W. Brenneman for an initial appearance on the charge, which carries a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release and restitution.

Check back with cm-life.com for more updates to this story.