Burr Ridge Doctor Indicted On Fraud Charges: Attorney's Office

BURR RIDGE, IL — A Burr Ridge resident and doctor has been indicted on charges for allegedly pocketing nearly $1 million in payments from Medicare and from a private insurer. Pranav Patel, 51, of Burr Ridge, and the owner of Palos Medical Care in Palos Heights was indicted on 12 counts which allege he submitted fraudulent claims for purported medical tests and examinations that were never performed, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

The Attorney's Office said Patel allegedly used some of his patients’ names without their knowledge to submit fraudulent claims. From 2008 to 2013, Patel fraudulently obtained, or caused his clinic to obtain, at least $950,000 in payments from Medicare and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, the indictment states.

Patel was indicted Thursday in Chicago with seven counts of health care fraud, three counts of making false statements in relation to a health care matter, and two counts of aggravated identity theft. Arraignment is set for May 15 before U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve.

According to the Attorney's Office, the indictment describes several instances in which Patel submitted a claim to Blue Cross or Medicare for a non-invasive “duplex scan” purportedly performed on a patient, when no such test was actually completed.

According to the charges, Patel once prepared a seven-page electronic medical record indicating that a patient had come to the office for a follow-up visit and examination, when the patient had actually come to the office to refill a prescription.

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