Woodbridge Doctor Admits To Healthcare Fraud Scheme With Family Member

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A man who lives in Woodbridge, and is a licensed medical doctor who owns a clinic in Newark, pleaded guilty to insurance fraud in federal court Wednesday.

Saurabh Patel, 51, admitted that he submitted fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, according to U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna.

Dr. Patel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit healthcare fraud. He is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 27.

He had previously been indicted with a family member, Kaival Patel, 52, of West New York, who is not a doctor. Kaival Patel was also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, substantive counts of money laundering and lying to federal agents.

Saurabh Patel pleaded guilty first. The trial against Kaival Patel is scheduled to be held later this year.

Prosecutors say that despite having no background in pharmaceuticals or medicine, Kaival Patel and his wife created and operated a company called ABC Healthy Living LLC to sell medical products and services, including compound prescription medications. Compound medications are specialty medications mixed by a pharmacist to meet the specific medical needs of an individual patient; they are not monitored by the FDA but it is quite common for doctors and pharmacists to prescribe them.

A third man, Paul Camarda, a pharmaceutical sales representative, also worked with Kaival Patel.

The two men learned that certain state and local government employees had insurance that would reimburse thousands of dollars for a one-month supply of certain compound medications.

Federal prosecutors say Kaival Patel and Camarda approached Dr. Saurabh Patel and convinced him to write the prescriptions for the compound medications, regardless of whether or not people needed them.

Patel and Camarda steered the state and federal employees with the cushy health insurance plans to Dr. Patel’s Newark medical office to get the prescriptions. Dr. Patel was reimbursed with insurance payments for those patients, and Patel and Camarda received commissions.

Camarda pleaded guilty in July of 2021 to healthcare fraud conspiracy and conspiring to commit money laundering and obstruct justice. He awaits sentencing.

The Patels were investigated by the IRS and the FBI.