Norwalk Doctor Pleads Guilty To Health Care Fraud Offenses: DOJ

NORWALK, CT — A Norwalk doctor pleaded guilty Monday in New Haven federal court to narcotics distribution and health care fraud offenses, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut John H. Durham.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Bharat Patel, 71, of Milford was a physician operating out of Family Health Urgent Care in Norwalk from approximately 2011 to July 2017.

"During this time, Patel saw numerous patients who had no legitimate medical purpose to see [him] and only came to his medical practice in order to obtain prescriptions for controlled substances, primarily hydrocodone or oxycodone," Durham said in a release. "Some of those patients were enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare and paid for Patel’s services, and had the prescriptions paid for by those programs."

Durham said the accused knew, and also was advised by pharmacists and his staff, that the prescriptions he was providing to his patients were medically unnecessary.

"For example, Patel had patients to whom he prescribed oxycodone or hydrocodone whose urine/blood tests showed no signs of opioid ingestion," Durham said. "He also had patients to whom he prescribed oxycodone or hydrocodone whose urine/blood tests showed that they had other narcotics in their systems and that a prescription for oxycodone or hydrocodone would be a contraindication. Patel ignored the warnings and continued to prescribe controlled substances to these patients outside of the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose."

According to Durham, the accused wrote prescriptions "on numerous occasions" to patients who paid him $100 in cash for each prescription. He also allegedly left "medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone or hydrocodone" at a liquor store next to his practice, which patients exchanged an envelope of cash for, Durham said.

"In pleading guilty," Durham said, "Patel admitted that he wrote hundreds of medically unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone, and received $158,523.95 as a result of this and related criminal conduct."

According to Durham, the accused pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and hydrocodone, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, and one count of health care fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12.

“The investigation revealed that this defendant profited by prescribing highly addictive painkillers to individuals who were either addicted to opioids, or who turned around and illegally distributed the pills they received,” Durham said in a release. “As a result of his criminal conduct, tens of thousands of pills were dispensed to individuals who didn’t need them and shouldn’t have them. I thank the DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad, the Norwalk Police Department and the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office for their efforts in this case, which has put a corrupt medical practice that helped fuel the opioid epidemic permanently out of business.”

Durham said the accused has agreed to forfeit $158,523.95 to the government and has also agreed to forfeit and surrender his federal controlled substances registration to the DEA. The accused has been detained since his arrest on July 12, 2017.

“The DEA is committed to enforcing the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) by ensuring that all registrants are in compliance and abide by DEA’s distribution regulations,” DEA Special Agent in Charge Boyle. “The actions by Dr. Patel contributed to the widespread abuse of opiates, which is a gateway to heroin addiction and is devastating our communities. In response to the ongoing opioid epidemic DEA is committed to improve public safety and public health by working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure these rules and regulations are strictly followed. This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative law enforcement in Connecticut and our great partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”

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