Former Jamestown doctor arrested in New York
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A former Jamestown medical doctor has been arrested in New York after being charged with 40 counts of TennCare fraud and two counts of theft of property.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that 68-year-old Vijaya Patibandla (vee-JAY’-ya pat-TEE’-ban-da-lah) was arrested Thursday in his home in Valley Stream, New York.
The TBI said that agents found that Patibandla was writing illegal prescriptions for controlled substances from November 2007 through December 2010. He is accused of charging TennCare when patients visited his office to get those prescriptions.
He closed his Fentress County practice and moved to New York, where he is currently licensed to practice medicine. Officials said he voluntarily surrendered his Tennessee medical license in 2012. A Fentress County grand jury indicted him in December.
