A medical office in Commerce Township was raided by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents Tuesday morning in connection to a large-scale health fraud investigation involving 13 suspects in the U.S. and Canada.
St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital’s Dr. Rajat Daniel, 47, of Union Lake Medical Center, has been implicated in the ring, along with 12 other physicians, marketers and pharmacists.
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Representatives of the FBI, the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services and the DEA joined Michigan U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade in naming those that were indicted in the fraud and drug distribution plot.
The suspects were included in a 2011 indictment involving the owner of 26 pharmacies statewide who provided kickbacks, bribes and other illegal benefits to physicians to coax them to participate in a closed medical billing and prescription fraud ring.
Babubhai Patel, the original owner indicted, is also accused of a “conspiracy to distribute controlled substances at the Patel pharmacies to facilitate the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers,” according to a media release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. “The controlled substances included … oxycodone (Oxycontin), … hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab), … alprazolam (Xanax), and … cough syrup with codeine.”
According to the indictment, prescriptions for these drugs were written outside the course of legitimate medical practice, said the attorney in the release.
The indictment goes on to say that Patel and the pharmacists in his fraud syndicate would distribute the drugs to people who didn’t really need them in exchange for fraudulent billing to customers’ insurance companies.
Of the 26 defendants originally charged, six, including Babubhai Patel and four pharmacists, were convicted at a trial last summer. Fifteen additional defendants, including six pharmacists and two doctors, have pleaded guilty in the case.
The five remaining defendants whose charges were renewed in the superseding indictment are set for trial on June 10, said McQuade. On Feb. 1, Babubhai Patel was sentenced to 17 years imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow.
“Taxpayers fund Medicare and Medicaid to provide health care for needy citizens,” McQuade said. “We hope that doctors and pharmacists will take note that if they exploit these programs for personal profit, they will face serious consequences.”
Robert L. Corso, Special Agent in charge of DEA’s Detroit Field Division, said Tuesday’s indictments were significant.
“It is alleged … these individuals abused their positions of trust and endangered the lives of countless people by illegally distributing opiate painkillers and depressants throughout southeast Michigan,” he said in McQuade’s release.
Tuesday morning’s raid in Commerce Township — at the Union Lake Medical Center on Union Lake Road — led to St. Joseph Mercy Oakland doctor Rajat Daniel being included in the grouped case. He’s one of the physicians listed at the facility.
Late Tuesday, St. Joseph Mercy media relations personnel sent out a prepared statement with the hospital’s reactions to Daniel’s alleged involvement in the drug fraud scheme.
President and CEO Jack Weiner said drug fraud is strongly condemned and is contrary to the mission that St. Joseph Oakland tries to purvey.
“We expect all members of our organization to act with integrity and comply with all DEA regulations and practices. We are deeply dismayed by the allegations related to Dr. Daniel,” Weiner said in the release. “At this time, we have limited information about the situation. As we learn more, we will follow established policies as they relate to his future medical staff privileges.”
Before the raid in Commerce, reports indicated that an office in Macomb County — the Macomb Medical Center, located on 19 Mile Road — underwent a similar investigation. Ruben Benito, 72, has been accused at the Clinton Township office. Both offices were closed for the day. Commerce Township’s Daniel could not be reached for comment.
Of all the 13 indicted Tuesday, new defendants included five doctors, four pharmacists, and a home health agency owner.
Daniel, in addition to Vinod Patel, 40, of West Bloomfield, and physician Javaid Bashir, 59, Madison Heights were those charged in Oakland County. Two from Canada, two from Canton, two from Detroit, one from Jackson and one from Grand Blanc are also included in the drug fraud ring.
