Edison Nursing Home Settles For $2.7 Million For Medicaid False Claims

EDISON, NJ — The owner of an adult day care center based in Edison agreed to pay the federal government and the state of New Jersey $2.72 million to resolve allegations that the center improperly billed and received payments from Medicaid.

Edison Adult Medical Daycare is located on Oak Tree Road, and is still open and accepting new clients. The center's former owner, Dr. Dinesh Patel, and current owners, Daxa Patel and Satish Mehtani, agreed to the settlement after it was found that the center improperly billed and received payments from Medicaid despite Dr. Patel having been excluded from participating in Medicaid following his 2012 conviction for accepting kickbacks.

On Sept. 19, 2012, Dr. Patel pleaded guilty to accepting cash kickback payments from Orange Community MRI LLC in exchange for patient referrals. He was later sentenced to three months in jail and two years of supervised release. Following that guilty plea, Patel was forbidden by the state of New Jersey and the federal government from participating in Medicare, Medicaid, and all federal health care programs for a period of five years.

Five days after his Medicaid exclusion in 2012, he transferred his 50 percent ownership interest in Edison to his wife, Daxa Patel.

The settlement was reached Wednesday of this week and also resolves allegations that owners Daxa Patel and Satish Mehtani had full knowledge that Dinesh Patel was managing Edison while he was an excluded Medicaid provider.

Dinesh Patel, Daxa Patel, Satish Mehtani, and Edison have agreed to pay $2.72 million plus interest to be split equally between United States and State of New Jersey. Dinesh Patel has also agreed to another five-year exclusion precluding him from participating in all federal health care programs, including Medicaid and Medicare, until 2022.

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