US: Pakistani, Indian reach plea bargain in fraud case

HOUSTON: The diagnostic and medical imaging companies in Houston owned by a Pakistani and an Indian has reached a plea bargain with Department of Justice.

The company agreed to pay 2.6 Million dollar against the charges of defrauding the federal system. The fraud case against them will be quashed after their payment of damages.

" Two groups of Houston-based diagnostic centers have agreed to pay the United States a total of more than $2.6 million to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Joyce R. Branda for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas. The settlements were finalized without an admission of liability and without commencement of litigation.

One group of centers, which operates under the name One Step Diagnostic and is owned and controlled by Fuad Rehman Cochinwala, has agreed to pay $1.2 million.

The payment is being made to settle allegations that it violated the Stark Statute and the False Claims Act by entering into sham consulting and medical director agreements with physicians who referred patients to One Step Diagnostic Centers.

The other group of centers, which is owned and controlled by Rahul Dhawan, has agreed to pay $1,457,686. This group consists of Complete Imaging Solutions LLC doing business as Houston Diagnostics, Deerbrook Diagnostics & Imaging Center LLC, Elite Diagnostic Inc., Galleria MRI & Diagnostic LLC, Spring Imaging Center Inc. and West Houston MRI & Diagnostics LLC.

The United States alleged that these centers engaged in improper financial relationships with referring physicians and improperly billed Medicare using the provider number of a physician who had not authorized them to do so and had not been involved in the provision of the services being billed.

The Jang/Geo had previously uncovered several of this kind of stories in which physicians were involved where these kinds of companies pay them

The perks these physicians and their families received include VIP tickets of various concerts.


Fuad Rehman Cochinwala hails from Karachi and is also a director at Islamic Association of greater Houston ISGH.

The Houston community members call these people as smart criminals, as they get off the hook by using system faults and loopholes; however they give bad name to the community.

Just recently, a renowned Dallas Businessman doctor has been sentenced for 20 years for defrauding and embezzlement and few other doctors are also under investigation.