Middlesex County Doctor Charged With Hiding About $3.6 Million In Income

A Middlesex County doctor was indicted Monday on charges that he hide about $3.6 million in income from his medical practice through a sophisticated money laundering scheme.

Dr. Manoj Patharkar, 44, of the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge, and his co-defendant, Mohammed Shamshair, 51, of Sayreville, were charged with first-degree conspiracy, two counts of first-degree money laundering, second-degree theft by deception, second-degree misconduct by a corporate official, seven counts of third-degree filing fraudulent tax returns, three counts of third-degree failure to pay taxes, and third-degree tampering with public records or information.

The corporations Patharkar owned, Pain Management Associates of Central Jersey in Edison and Prospect Pain Management Associates in Passaic, were also charged with first-degree conspiracy, two counts of first-degree money laundering and other, lesser charges.

Because of that scheme, from 2005 to 2011, the doctor underpaid about $327,000 in taxes owed to the State of New Jersey, authorities said.

The two men were taken into custody Tuesday by detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice. They were sent to the Middlesex County Adult Corrections Center, North Brunswick.

Earlier this year, an accountant from New York entered a guilty plea in connection with the case.

“While the defendants’ alleged scheme was novel and sophisticated, their motive was simple and familiar: greed,” acting Attorney General Hoffman said in a prepared statement. “As evidenced by the litany of charges, we believe these men have woven together a series of serious crimes that have victimized the New Jersey taxpayers.”

According to a news release from the state:

The doctor used two different schemes to launder a total of $3.6 million through his two practices.

In one scam, he falsified employee payroll and wage expenses, by creating about 28 fake employees by using the personal information, including social security numbers, names, dates of birth, and addresses, of real people.

Then Patharkar issued at least 1,574 checks totaling almost $2.2 million to those 28 phantom employees.

In May, Irfan Raza, 44, a certified public accountant from Valley Stream, New York, entered a guilty plea to second-degree conspiracy in state Superior Court, New Brunswick.

Raza, provided the details for those fake employees and admitted helping Patharkar and Shamshair launder the money in exchange for a cut of the funds.

In other scheme, Patharkar received about 4,310 checks totaling a little more than $1.4 million from various companies and people, including several insurance carriers, for medical services he provided.

But he deposited those checks into his personal bank accounts and did not claim that income on either his personal or corporate tax filings.

If convicted, first-degree crimes carry prison terms of 10- to 20-years, and second-degree offenses carry terms of 5- to 10-years.

Deputy Attorney General T.J. Harker coordinated the investigation and presented the case to the grand jury.

Lt. Lisa Shea and Detectives Kim Allen and John Campanella handled the investigation.

Financial analysis was provided by Analysts Kim Geis and Rita Gillis. Investigative support was provided by Auditor Charlene Singleton of the Department of Treasury, Office of Criminal Investigation. Additional legal and investigative support was provided by Deputy Attorneys General Jillian Carpenter, Lilianne Daniel and Bradford Mueller and Detectives Natalie Brotherston, Cortney Lawrence, Taryn Seidner, Anthony Correll and Analyst Bethany Schussler.

Photos courtesy NJ Attorney General’s Office; Photo 1: Dr. Manoj Patharkar; Photo 2: Mohammed Shamshair