Feds sue Essex doctor in UMDNJ scheme

[Heracles 417]

Feds sue Essex doctor in UMDNJ scheme

by Josh Margolin/The Star-Ledger

Thursday April 17, 2008, 3:42 PM

The federal government today filed a lawsuit against an Essex County physician, accusing him of participating in an illegal kickback scheme at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which has already led to the criminal convictions of two other doctors.

According to the suit filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Atul Prakash of Cedar Grove violated federal Medicare statutes, committed fraud and submitted false statements by illegally referring more than 30 patients to UMDNJ's University Hospital in Newark in return for $119,000 in payments.

The suit seeks reimbursement of Prakash's salary as well as financial penalties that could reach higher than $2.5 million. Federal law says that doctors are not allowed to make patient referrals based on their own financial ties.

"There are still others who engaged in the same conduct, and we will use both criminal and civil remedies as needed to achieve justice and the return of money received by fraud," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said.

The kickback scheme was hatched as part of an increasingly desperate effort to beef up a failing cardiac surgery program that had been on state probation for years. In return for a steady stream of patient referrals, UMDNJ entered into contracts with at least 16 community physicians, each of whom was paid a salary and given the title of clinical assistant professor.

In February, two cardiologists admitted to participating in the scheme as part of a plea bargain with federal criminal prosecutors. Those doctors -- Bakul Desai of Livingston and Laxmipathi Garipalli of Colts Neck -- are cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI in the probe and face a possible suspension of their licenses once the state Board of Medical Examiners reviews the case. Prakash was not named in that case.

According to the board's web site, Prakash received his medical degree in India in 1982 and he has an active license. At his Fair Lawn office today, a woman who answered the phone said Prakash was not available.

Prakash's attorney, Sean Buckley, disputed the accusations in the lawsuit: "My client denies all the allegations being made. The complaint is riddled with factual inaccuracies. Doctor Prakash performed all the bona fide services requested that he perform in the contract and we look forward to taking this case to trial to obtain a vindication."

UMDNJ spokeswoman Anna Farneski was not immediately available, but she has previously said the university has "worked aggressively" to restructure and reform the community cardiology program since concerns were first raised in 2006, including a reduction in the number of community cardiologists and changes in salaries and reporting requirements.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/umdnj.html