A New Jersey doctor, Adarsh Gupta, has been convicted by a federal jury for orchestrating a Medicare fraud scheme, defrauding the system of over $5.4 million.
The scheme involved fraudulent claims for orthotic braces ordered through a telemarketing operation.
According to court documents and trial evidence, Gupta, aged 51 and residing in Sewell, signed thousands of prescriptions for orthotic braces for more than 2,900 Medicare beneficiaries.
Telemarketers, with whom Gupta was affiliated, persuaded beneficiaries to accept unnecessary braces, after which Gupta prescribed the braces over brief telephone conversations.
These prescriptions falsely represented that the braces were medically necessary and that Gupta had diagnosed the beneficiaries, formulated care plans, and recommended additional treatment.
Examples presented at trial revealed the extent of the fraud.
Gupta prescribed multiple braces for an undercover agent after a mere minute-long phone call, and in another instance, he prescribed a knee brace for a beneficiary with amputated legs.
The jury convicted Gupta on three counts of health care fraud and two counts of false statements relating to health care matters.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each health care fraud count and five years for each false statement count. Sentencing is scheduled for October 8, 2024.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, along with officials from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), announced the conviction.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and it was prosecuted by attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The conviction underscores ongoing efforts to combat health care fraud, led by the Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program.
Since its inception in March 2007, this program has charged over 5,400 defendants and recovered more than $27 billion from fraudulent schemes.
