New York cardiologist gets prison for fraud, bribery scheme

A New York City-based cardiologist was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a fraud and bribery scheme.

What happened?

Since at least 2016, Niranjan Mittal, MD, 72, operated a medical clinic with a patient base consisting largely of individuals with limited economic means who were insured by government healthcare programs, according to an Aug. 21 Justice Department news release.
To bring in new patients, Dr. Mittal paid rental fees to other providers for purported leases for office space. He made the lease payments to induce the providers to refer patients to his practice.
Once patients arrived at the clinic, they underwent a series of diagnostic tests and follow-up visits that were generally not based on actual treatment needs.
Between 2016 and 2023, insurers paid more than $40 million to Dr. Mittal’s practice from patients referred by physicians who received improper rent payments .
In addition to the prison sentence, Dr. Mittal was ordered to forfeit the proceeds traceable to the scheme.