Indian American medical biller arrested for stealing $1 million
Amrish Patel and his two firms allegedly stole funds intended for surgeons who provided care to injured workers
Amrish Patel, 61, an Indian American resident of Monroe Township, New Jersey, has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $1 million intended for doctors who provided medical care to injured workers in New York.
Patel, who provided billing services to a Brooklyn-based orthopedic surgery practice, allegedly submitted falsified claim forms to the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) to steal at least $1.1 million in workers’ compensation reimbursements for himself.
Patel and his two companies, Medlink Services, Inc. and Medlink Partners, LLC, were charged Jan 3 with 27 felony counts for the thefts they allegedly committed from January 2012 through January 2019, according to a press release.
READ: Indian convicted of $2.8 million Medicare fraud (September 28, 2023)
“Doctors and health care professionals provide crucial care to our communities, and they rely on accurate and ethical billing to sustain these services and ensure our wellbeing,” New York Attorney General Letitia James stated.
“When money is illegally diverted away from doctors and providers, all New Yorkers suffer as a result. Fraud of any kind will never go unchecked in our state, and my office will continue to use every measure to hold accountable those who seek to cheat New Yorkers for personal gain.”
According to the 27-count complaint, Patel abused his position as a medical billing agent over the course of nearly seven years by diverting payments that were intended for surgeons who provided health care services to workers’ compensation claimants.
Starting in 2011, Patel and his companies handled billing services for a Brooklyn-based orthopedic surgery practice and were responsible for submitting billing for surgeries related to work-related injuries under the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law. Under the law, authorized providers are reimbursed for their treatment of injured workers by the insurance carrier for the employer.
Indian American gets 27-year jail for $463 million Medicare fraud (August 21, 2023)
Under the terms of their client agreement, Patel submitted bills for surgical procedures to NYSIF, the workers’ compensation carrier in this instance, and then the payments would subsequently be issued directly to the surgical practice or its doctors.
In exchange for these transactions, Patel and his companies were paid monthly service fees. However, Patel allegedly submitted falsified claim forms to NYSIF and requested that the payments be sent to his companies instead of the doctors.
In total, Patel allegedly stole at least $1.1 million in payments originally intended for three doctors for services provided between January 1, 2012 and January 4, 2019.
Four Indian Americans convicted of $463 million fraud, kickbacks and bribery (December 16, 2022)
Patel was arraigned on January 3 in Albany City Court. He was later released with electronic monitoring and a $100,000 bond.
