NEWARK, NJ—U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced today that the government has intervened in a False Claims Act lawsuit and filed a complaint against a Morris County, New Jersey, couple and their diagnostic imaging companies for knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare for thousands of falsified diagnostic test reports and the underlying tests.

Nita K. Patel, 53, and Kirtish N. Patel, 53, both of Rockaway, New Jersey, owners and operators of Biosound Medical Services Inc. and Heart Solution PC of Parsippany, New Jersey, each pleaded guilty Nov. 17, 2015, to informations charging them with health care fraud related to this conduct.

The civil complaint alleges that defendants created fraudulent diagnostic test reports, forged physician signatures on these reports, and then billed Medicare for the fraudulent reports and the underlying tests that were used solely to create these reports. The complaint alleges that defendants billed Medicare for neurological tests that they conducted without the required physician supervision. The complaint also alleges that defendants knowingly submitted false claims for neurological tests conducted without physician supervision.

The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The False Claims Act also permits the government to intervene in such lawsuits, as it has done in this case.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation leading to the filing of today’s complaint.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Graybow of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.

U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman reorganized the health care fraud practice at the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office shortly after taking office, including creating a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since 2010, the office has recovered more than $640 million in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.

The case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Jane Doe v. Heart Solution, PC, et al., No. 14-3644 (D.N.J.).

Defense counsel:

• Kirtish Patel: Anthony Fusco, Jr., Esq., Passaic, New Jersey
• Nita Patel: Frank Arleo, Esq., West Orange, New Jersey

Counsel for Relator:

• Timothy J. McInnis, Esq., New York, New York