Boston physician Pankaj Merchia, MD, has been convicted on charges of healthcare fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the IRS and tax evasion, according to a Jan. 23 release from the Justice Department.
What happened?
- From 2017 to 2019, Dr. Merchia, who operated multiple sleep medicine companies in Florida and Massachusetts, was found to have fraudulently billed insurers for millions of dollars in medical equipment not used by patients. He also submitted more than $390,000 in false claims for treating a family member and used a nominee to continue collecting payments after being told not to bill for relatives.
- From 2009 to 2019, Dr. Merchia evaded taxes on more than $6.5 million in income by falsely assigning ownership of his businesses to a co-conspirator. Prosecutors said he fabricated a sale of his companies to avoid tax liability and used sham deductions to minimize taxes owed by the co-conspirator.
- Proceeds from the fraud were used in part to buy a $2.1 million home in Brookline, Mass.
- He was convicted of one count of healthcare fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS and two counts of tax evasion. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 28.
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