Two Fresno, Calif., physicians agreed to collectively pay more than $2.4 million to settle allegations that they solicited and received kickbacks in exchange for directing prescriptions to a group of mail-order pharmacies.
In separate agreements, podiatrist Jagpreet Mukker, DPM, agreed to pay $1.6 million, and pain medicine specialist Amitabh Goswami, DO, agreed to pay $835,000, according to a Nov. 21 Justice Department news release.
Dr. Mukker acknowledged that from 2016 to 2020, he accepted payments in connection with prescriptions he ordered to a series of "indistinguishable mail-order pharmacies" run by Matthew Peters. He received kickbacks described as "investment returns," tied to investments in management service organizations run by Mr. Peters.
Payouts for these investments were multiple times the amount of capital initially paid into the venture within the first few months, amounting to $117,400 in payouts to Dr. Mukker per year. The arrangement included an agreed-upon exchange of payments for prescriptions, with the prescriptions being a condition of investment.
Dr. Goswami's settlement resolves allegations that he participated in the same kickback scheme.
Dr. Mukker's settlement also resolves allegations that from January 2017 through November 2023, he submitted false claims for peripheral venous studies that he knew were not covered by Medicare, under the guise of covered evaluation and management services.