Mr. Aziz admitted to creating fictitious therapy files, along with co-conspirator Suresh Chand, beginning in 2005, that documented physical and occupational therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries that were in fact never provided.
Mr. Chand owned and controlled several companies operating in Detroit that purported to provide such services and pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder money. He admitted to paying cash kickbacks and other inducements to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for the beneficiaries’ Medicare numbers and signatures on documents falsely indicating that they had received physical or occupational therapy. Mr. Aziz admitted that he signed approximately 400 fictitious “progress notes” and other documents falsely indicating that he had provided services to the Medicare beneficiaries. He admitted that he was paid between $70 and $90 for each file he falsified.
Between approximately May 2005 and Dec. 2006, Mr. Aziz falsified physical therapy files that supported claims to the Medicare program totaling around $1.9 million. According to court documents, Medicare paid approximately $817,000 on those claims. Mr. Aziz admitted that throughout the conspiracy he was fully aware that Medicare was being billed for physical therapy services that he falsely indicated he had performed.
Mr. Aziz’s sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2010. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine.
Read the DOJ’s release on the Michigan Medicare fraud scheme.
