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Indian-origin doctor Neil Anand, 48, has been convicted in the United States for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit multi-million dollar healthcare fraud and illegal distribution of opioids. The federal court in Pennsylvania convicted Anand along with money laundering.
Oxycodone Prescription Scam
In accordance with the US Justice Department, Anand was involved in a $2.3 million scheme comprising the illegal dispensing of controlled substances, mainly oxycodone, a highly addictive opioid at the heart of America’s current drug epidemic. He wrote pre-signed medical prescriptions for oxycodone, which were subsequently utilized by unlicensed medical interns to facilitate just nine patients to take home a whopping 20,850 tablets.
Besides the unlawful prescriptions, Anand dispensed “medically unnecessary prescription drugs” in so-called “Goody Bags” to patients who sought controlled substances from pharmacies he owned.
The bags were offered to patients who were in need of controlled substances, and the charges were falsely submitted to health insurance providers and government medical plans, which paid a total of $2.3 million for these drugs that were not needed.
Money Laundering and Cover-Up
When Anand became aware of the investigation, he tried to cover up the proceeds of the scam. Prosecutors announced that he deposited approximately $1.2 million into an account under his father’s name and in the interest of his minor daughter in an attempt to conceal the illegal funds.
The case was handled by a team of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, led by Indian-American prosecutor Arun Bodapati.
Anand’s sentencing is set for August 2025.
A Disturbing Trend
The case contributes to an increasingly long list of opioid-related and healthcare fraud convictions of medical practitioners of Indian origin in the US. In December 2017, Devendra Patel, a 58-year-old Nevada cardiologist, was arrested on 39 charges of illegal distribution of prescription opioids and healthcare fraud.
Patel is accused of writing prescriptions for strong opioids like fentanyl, hydrocodone, and oxycodone without valid medical reason between May 2014 and September 2017. He entered a plea of not guilty at a federal court in Reno, Nevada.
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