Albion Doctor Receives Probationary Sentence for Making False Health Care Statements
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 23, 2011 |
BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that Ghulam Mustafa, 48, of Albion, New York, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. Mustafa, who was convicted in April 2011 of making false statements in connection with a health care matter, received a sentence of two years’ probation. The defendant was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $81,544 to the private insurance providers he defrauded.
Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryEllen Kresse, who handled the case, stated that on multiple occasions from January 2005 through December 2007, Mustafa, a physician working with Hassan Medical Group in Albion, New York, submitted claims to health insurance companies seeking reimbursement for vaccines he administered to patients. The patients were insured by those companies, but Mustafa received the vaccines for free through the Vaccines for Children Program - a federally funded program administered by New York State. The program is designed to provide free vaccines to underprivileged children. Mustafa falsely indicated that more patients were eligible for the free vaccines than actually were. As a result, the defendant obtained over $80,000 in reimbursements from private insurance companies to which he was not entitled.
“At a time of growing concern over escalating health care costs, it is vitally important that those in the medical profession submit honest and accurate claims for reimbursement,” said United States Attorney Hochul. “Members of the public and health care industry alike should know that this office is committed to investigating and prosecuting waste, fraud, and abuse in the health care industry.”
The sentence is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota; and Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas O’Donnell.