Monmouth Junction Doctor Charged in Bribes for Blood Scheme, Feds Say

Monmouth Junction, NJ - An internal medicine doctor who practices in Staten Island, but lives in Monmouth Junction, was charged Tuesday with accepting bribes in exchange for test referrals, the U.S. Attorney's office announced.

Ahmed El Soury, 44, of Monmouth Junction, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Newark Tuesday. His arrest and indictment comes as part of a long-running and elaborate scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services (BLS), of Parsippany. Two other doctors have already pleaded guilty for taking bribes from BLS in exchange for referring patient blood samples to them, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said. The indictment charges:

Between 2011 and 2013, El Soury allegedly received cash bribes totaling approximately $65,000 from BLS employees and associates in exchange for sending his patients' blood samples there. In February 2012, El Soury solicited and received an increase in his monthly bribe payments for having persuaded another health care provider to refer patient blood samples to BLS. El Soury’s referrals generated approximately $650,000 in lab business for BLS.

El Soury is the third physician to be indicted in connection with the BLS bribery scheme. Dr. Brett Ostrager of Woodbury, N.Y. – who pleaded guilty on Dec. 22, 2015 – was sentenced on June 8, 2016 to 37 months in prison. Dr. Bernard Greenspan, of Saddlebrook, NJ, was indicted on March 14, 2016 and is scheduled for trial on Jan. 31, 2017 before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls. The investigation has thus far resulted in 41 guilty pleas – 27 of them from 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.

The investigation has to date recovered more than $12 million through forfeiture. On June 28 of this year, BLS, which is no longer operational, pleaded guilty and was required to forfeit all of its assets.