An Indian-American doctor, Adarsh Gupta, residing in Sewell, New Jersey, has been found guilty by a federal jury in the United States for orchestrating a Medicare fraud scheme totaling over $5.4 million. Gupta's conviction stems from his involvement in prescribing unnecessary orthotic braces to thousands of Medicare beneficiaries as part of a fraudulent telemarketing operation.
Court documents and trial evidence revealed that Gupta signed off on thousands of prescriptions for orthotic braces without properly assessing the medical needs of over 2,900 Medicare beneficiaries. Telemarketers would persuade these individuals to accept braces, following which Gupta would issue prescriptions based on brief phone conversations, sometimes lasting only minutes.
In shocking instances of negligence, Gupta prescribed braces to individuals who did not require them, including one case where he prescribed a knee brace to a person with amputated legs. Despite the evident lack of medical necessity, Gupta falsely certified the braces as essential and claimed to have devised care plans for the beneficiaries.
The fraudulent prescriptions were then exploited by brace supply companies to defraud Medicare of more than $5.4 million.
Gupta was found guilty of three counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of making false statements about healthcare matters. He now faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for each healthcare fraud charge and up to five years for each false statement charge.
Sentencing for Gupta is slated for October 8, marking a significant development in the legal battle against healthcare fraud in the United States.
