Doctor Accused Of Lying To Medicare Thousands Of Times

A mansion, Arizona real estate, luxury cars and investments were all paid for by money authorities say a Chicago cardiologist scammed from Medicare, according to a report by the Associated Press. The suburban doctor practicing in Burr Ridge was sentenced to five years in prison for what authorities say amounted to more than $13 million in Medicare reimbursements for care that was never provided.

Authorities say 50-year-old Sushil Sheth pleaded guilty a year ago to one count of health care fraud, and received his sentence this week. He’ll begin serving a five year prison term in two months. The fraud happened between January 2002 and July 2007. In June 2007, the Associated Press says that federal agents seized more than 600 uncashed checks from insurance companies totaling more than $6.7 million.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Sheth “lied thousands of times to Medicare and other insurers in order to receive millions of dollars he did not earn for patients he never treated,” according to a statement released by the  U.S. attorney’s office. According to the Chicago Tribune, Sheth stole patient information from three unnamed hospitals and used it to bill Medicare and other insurance companies for services he never performed and patients he never treated.