Westchester Doctor Accused in $50M Health Care Fraud Scheme

Yonkers neurologist Dr. Emad Soliman is among six defendants accused Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of running a medical practice that bilked public health care programs of $50 million over more than a decade.

“Health care fraud schemes like the one alleged here loot government health programs, compromise patient well-being, and undermine the public’s trust in the health profession," said Scott J. Lampert, special agent-in-charge of the New York Regional Office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. "You can bet our agents will continue to thoroughly investigate such allegations and hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes.”

Prosecutors allege Asim Hameedi, a board-certified interventional cardiologist who was the president and owner of City Medical Associates, a cardiology and neurology clinic based in Bayside, New York, together with others employed by CMA, conducted a massive health care fraud scheme spanning 12 years. Hameedi conducted this scheme with others employed at or associated with CMA, including his nephew, Fawad Hameedi, his brother, Arif Hameedi, Michelle Landoy, and Desiree Scott, who were also employees of CMA, and Emad Soliman, a board-certified neurologist with his own practice in Westchester, New York.

The multi-faceted scheme included, among other things: (1) making false representations to insurance providers, including providers paid through Medicaid and Medicare, about the medical condition of patients in order to obtain preauthorization for medical tests and procedures; (2) submitting false claims to insurance providers for tests and procedures that were not performed and/or medically unnecessary, as well as for drug items not used or provided; (3) paying exorbitant kickbacks to local primary care medical offices in exchange for lucrative referrals from these offices; (4) and accessing, without authorization, electronic health records of patients at a particular hospital based on Long Island, New York, in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 in order to identify patients to be recruited to CMA.

Wednesday's actions include the unsealing of an indictment charging them with, among other things, health care fraud, identity theft, and making false statements and the filing of a civil fraud lawsuit against CMA and Hameedi, among others, seeking treble damages and civil penalties under the False Claims Act for the fraudulent claims for reimbursement submitted by CMA to Medicare and Medicaid between 2003 and November 2015.