33-Month Prison Term For South Brunswick Doctor

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A Monmouth Junction doctor who practiced in Staten Island was sentenced Wednesday to 33 months in prison for his confessed role in the ongoing "bribes for blood" scheme.

Dr. Ahmed El Soury, 45, of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, previously admitted to taking cash bribes in exchange for referring patients' blood specimens to Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany. Dr. El Soury was sentenced Wednesday to 33 months in prison. El Soury is an internal medicine doctor.

From March 2011 through April 2013, El Soury received bribes totaling more than $66,000 from BLS employees and associates. El Soury’s referrals generated approximately $650,000 in lab business for BLS.

So far the investigation has resulted in 51 convictions – 37 of them doctors – in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case.

On June 28, 2016, BLS, which is no longer operational, pleaded guilty and was required to forfeit all of its assets.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced El Soury to three years of supervised release and fined him $7,500.

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