An Essex County doctor accused of recruiting Amtrak employees to fraudulently bill their health insurance for unnecessary services and paying them kickbacks has been sentenced to 26 months in prison, according to Phillip. – U.S. Attorney R. Selinger announced on Tuesday.
Muhammad Mirza, 51, of Cedar Grove, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
From April 2017 to June 2022, Mirza and other co-conspirators agreed to bill Amtrak’s employee health plan for services that were not provided or were medically unnecessary. Prosecutors argued in a complaint filed in June 2022.
Mirza and others paid Amtrak employees to use their health insurance claims information to submit claims for reimbursement by the medical company to Mirza’s office, officials said in a news release. According to authorities, Amtrak lost more than $1.3 million as a result of the fraud.
An Amtrak spokesperson referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to court documents, Mirza operated clinics in New Jersey, New York and other states. Mirza’s lawyer did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
In addition to the prison term, Mirza was also ordered to pay $1.37 million in restitution and serve two years of supervised release.
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