A Memphis gynecologic oncologist has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for using dirty, reused medical devices on more than 15,000 women during hysteroscopy procedures and billing Medicare and Medicaid more than $41 million for the unsafe care, the Justice Department said in a July 8 news release.
Sanjeev Kumar, MD, 45, a physician who operated Poplar Avenue Clinic in Memphis, routinely reused single-use hysteroscopes and graspers without proper reprocessing between patient procedures from September 2019 through April 2024. Evidence at trial showed he purchased fewer than 200 new hysteroscopes over the period, yet performed hysteroscopies on thousands of patients. Three of six single-use graspers purchased in 2019 were still in use in April 2024.
Dr. Kumar was convicted in January 2026 on 18 counts of adulteration of medical devices, 16 counts of misbranding medical devices and six counts of healthcare fraud. He netted more than $4.8 million from Medicare and Medicaid alone for the procedures, not including reimbursements from private insurers. A restitution hearing is scheduled for October 2.
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