Indian-American doctor charged with health care fraud

60-year-old Indian-American doctor Padmini Nagaraj, Muhammad Kaleem Arshad, 62, and Joseph A Haynes, 61, were charged with one count of conspiracy to receive illegal health care kickbacks and three counts of receiving illegal health care kickbacks.

Arshad and Nagaraj were also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud, the Department of Justice said yesterday.

All the three are from Louisiana.

The indictment alleges that the three doctors, who were affiliated with a company that provides outpatient psychiatric services, conspired with the owner of a New Orleans home health agency to take bribes in exchange for referring psychiatric patients for medically unnecessary home health services.

Haynes, who worked at the company as a marketer, allegedly helped to negotiate and enforce the bribes and kickbacks for the doctors.

The indictment further alleges that the New Orleans home health agency then submitted the fraudulent claims to Medicare to receive payment.