The owner of a New Jersey cardiology practice played a central role in a years-long healthcare fraud scheme that involved billing insurance providers for more than $1.9 million in false claims. Now he faces up to 10 years in prison and a substantial fine.
Fazal Panezai, MD, the 76-year-old owner of Matawan-Aberdeen Heart and Medical Center, admitted in federal court to submitting false claims to at least six health insurance benefit programs for office visits that either never happened at all or did not happen for the length of time he claimed. The scheme roughly lasted from January 2017 to December 2022.
According to one example shared by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Panezai submitted claims for 27.9 hours of office visits that he said all occurred on the same day. He also billed insurance companies large amounts of money for office visits that he admitted occurred on days he was “out of the country and not conducting any office visits.” In addition, Panezai confessed to submitting false claims for office visits where patients picked up a prescription from his practice’s front desk and never interacted with him.
The maximum punishment for this charge is 10 years in prison in addition to a maximum fine of either $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is bigger. Panezai is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
Philip R. Sellinger, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, announced the news in a statement. Sellinger thanked special agents from the FBI, including Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy, and the Matawan Police Department for their assistance. An undercover officer presenting as a patient played a key role in this investigation.
Click here to read additional details related to the case on the U.S. Department of Justice website.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.