Healthcare Takedown: 10 New Yorkers Named In Nationwide Medicare Fraud Bust

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — Ten New York City medical professionals who stand accused of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid of more than $125 million were arrested during a nationwide “takedown” of health care fraudsters that Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the biggest in the country’s history, prosecutors said Thursday.

Ten Brooklyn and Queens medical professionals are among 412 defendants from across the nation charged with making $1.3 billion in fraudulent billings, officials said.

In Brooklyn, physical therapist Wael Bakry, Dr. Abraham Demoz, chiropractor Alexander Khavash and occupational therapists Victor Genkin and Mayura Kanekar are charged with illegally buying patient referrals then sending the bills for services rendered — which amounted to more than $100 million — to Medicaid and Medicare, prosecutors said.

And in Queens, cardiologist Ghanshyam Bhambhani, 52, is charged with paying other doctors for patient referrals. Bhambhani is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court Thursday afternoon and could face up to five years in prison if convicted.

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Other defendants include Xiaoliang Zhang, a licensed physician who allegedly submitted $27 million in fraudulent healthcare claims, and Suzanna Meliksetyan, a woman who posed as a health care provider and submitted $12 million in fraudulent claims for medical equipment.

While 120 people named in the suit stand accused of illegally selling their patients dangerous opioids, none of the defendants tied to the drug-related charges are from New York City, said officials.

"Too many trusted medical professionals like doctors, nurses, and pharmacists have chosen to violate their oaths and put greed ahead of their patients," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in an official statement about the national case.

“The consequences are real: emergency rooms, jail cells, futures lost, and graveyards.”

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