Dr. Tariq Mehmood to face additional charges in Fed court
March 11, 2014
He is already facing eight counts of health care billing fraud charges brought last year. These charges includes two counts of fraud in HITECH Act electronic health record, financial incentive program and carried out a scheme with other to defraud Medicare and Medicaid through the submission of false and fraudulent claims as he has allegedly embezzled 19 Million dollars from Federal programs in stimulus funds.
He has pleaded not guilty to both sets of charges. The news of fraud has reached Texas Governor house to US House of Representatives as some Congressmen raised concern over the scam. Federal and state investigations are being completed. Dr. Tariq has been stripped from the ownership of a sequence of hospitals in last two decades due to tightening grips of the law.
Dr. Tariq has contracted a top defense attorney with a high repute in defending white-collar crimes, to plead his case, as he would be trial in the Federal Criminal court by late spring or summer.
According to details, US Attorney has filed additional cases against known Dallas Pakistani cardiologist Dr. Tariq Mahmood in a Federal criminal court at Eastern District of Texas in Tyler on counts of defrauding the healthcare system through identity theft and embezzlement of Federal money.
An accomplice of Dr. Tariq Mahmood, his former chief financial officer and administrator Joe White is also nominated as an accused of identify theft and milking the federal government of funds, by Department of Justice.
He allegedly has embezzled in excess of eight hundred thousand dollars $800,000 of Federal subsidy money on installation of electronic medical records technologies which later turned out to be a fraud as none of these devices were installed in these hospitals. White used computer IDs and Social Security numbers belonging to employees who refused to attest that the hospital met the criteria to receive the money.
White is accused of falsifying certification of switching from paper medical records to electronic system. He pleaded not guilty. He is also charged with using identities of their employees to falsified claims.
Dr. Tariq Mahmood is charged on seven counts of identity theft on several legal clauses. He is already facing trials on eight counts of fraud and scamming since last year. FBI and other Federal agencies have spent one year of investigation and an estimated nineteen Million dollar worth of fraud to Federal health agencies, is alleged on Dr. Tariq Mahmood.
The cases against Dr. Mahmood last year was estimated to be of 1.1 million dollars on which Texas Governor Rick Perry also ordered an investigation. FBI also has collected additional evidences which have brought new counts of illegal activities. On the other hand the US congressional energy and commerce committees have also expressed their concern on this 19 million dollar's fraud and has instructed the health agencies to conduct full investigation with specifics on what information HHS uses to screen healthcare providers and how data is shared among various federal agencies.
By the 12th March deadline, committee and staff also wants to know what they are doing to prevent this kind of scams, to improve the departmental efficiencies, and to monitor public programs on the permanent basis, in the future.
The letter is signed by energy and commerce committee's chairman Congressman Fred Upton, Vice Chairman Dr. Michael Burgess and Congressman Joe Barton.
On the other hand suspension of state run Medicaid and federal program of Medicare to Dr. Mahmood has suffered him loss of his chain of hospitals which he operated through separate companies.
For his defense Dr. Mahmood has contracted with a prominent defense lawyer Dean Codial of Houston who is considered a top-level defense attorney on white-collar crimes, said by Houston local media .The case is expected to be set for hearing by next month.
Dr. Tariq Mahmood is from Faisalabad Pakistan, he came to US in mid 70s and in 1978 he passed the FMG exam and trained for this Texas medical license, he practice only medicine in 2008.
In last two decades he owned six hospitals worth several million dollars besides home health care agencies and several five star hotels in which he and his wife still owns several hotels.
Dr. Tariq is out on a bail, though the court has barred him on travelling outside the state. Dr, Tariq Mahmood came into limelight after safety issues and investigation on death of some patients was allegedly happened because of safety issues and cleanliness in his administered hospitals, where his own staff divulged information on the safety issue and fraudulent transactions. This has brought him into the grips of the law.
In last year case if convicted, Dr Tariq Mahmood may face up to 10 years in federal prison for each charge and in the recent case if convicted, Mehamood and his former employee White may face up to five years in federal prison for making a false statement and up to two years in federal prison for aggravated identity theft.
A number of Pakistani physicians and Pakistani community are closely following this case and waiting to see which direction this case turn to.
