Psychiatrist pleads guilty to health care fraud
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A 56-year-old Baton Rouge psychiatrist has pleaded guilty to plotting to commit health care fraud in what federal prosecutors called a 7-year scheme that cost Medicare tens of millions of dollars.
The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1g5cpxH ) Dr. Zahid Imran entered his plea on Tuesday.
Imran will face up to 10 years in federal prison and hefty fines when he is sentenced Aug. 28 by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson.
Federal prosecutors have said hundreds of people were bused into Baton Rouge from Memphis, Tennessee, and other locations to attend therapy sessions at two community mental health clinics — Shifa Community Mental Health Center and Serenity Center.
Court documents say the Shifa facilities submitted claims to Medicare totaling more than $258 million during the course of the conspiracy.
