Healthcare Fraud: Ricky J. Sayegh Pleaded Guilty to an Information Charging Him With Accepting Cash Bribes

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New York Doctor Pleads Guilty In Connection With Test-Referral Scheme With New Jersey Clinical Lab

<h2>New York Doctor Pleads Guilty In Connection With Test-Referral Scheme With New Jersey Clinical Lab<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>NEWARK&comma; N&period;J&period; – An internal medicine doctor practicing in Yonkers&comma; New York&comma; today admitted taking bribes in connection with a long-running and elaborate test referral scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC &lpar;BLS&rpar;&comma; of Parsippany&comma; New Jersey&comma; its president and numerous associates&comma; Acting U&period;S&period; Attorney William E&period; Fitzpatrick announced&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Ricky J&period; Sayegh&comma; 44&comma; of Scarsdale&comma; New York&comma; pleaded guilty before U&period;S&period; District Judge Stanley R&period; Chesler in Newark federal court to an information charging him with accepting cash bribes in violation of the Federal Travel Act&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Sayegh admitted accepting cash bribes in return for referring blood specimens to BLS&period; From February 2010 through April 2013&comma; Sayegh received bribes totaling approximately &dollar;400&comma;000 from BLS employees and associates&period; Sayegh’s referrals generated more than &dollar;1&period;4 million in lab business for BLS&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The investigation has thus far resulted in 45 convictions – 31 of them doctors – in connection with the bribery scheme&comma; which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than &dollar;100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies&period; It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The investigation has to date recovered more than &dollar;12 million through forfeiture&period; On June 28&comma; 2016&comma; BLS&comma; which is no longer operational&comma; pleaded guilty and was required to forfeit all of its assets&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The charge to which Sayegh pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a &dollar;250&comma;000 fine&comma; or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense&period; Sayegh’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept&period; 6&comma; 2017&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Acting U&period;S&period; Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI&comma; under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark&semi; inspectors of the U&period;S&period; Postal Inspection Service&comma; under the direction of Inspector in Charge James V&period; Buthorn&semi; IRS–Criminal Investigation&comma; under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D&period; Larsen&semi; and the U&period;S&period; Department of Health and Human Services&comma; Office of Inspector General&comma; under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J&period; Lampert&comma; with the ongoing investigation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The government is represented by Assistant U&period;S&period; Attorneys Joseph N&period; Minish&comma; Danielle Alfonzo Walsman&comma; and Jacob T&period; Elberg&comma; Chief of the U&period;S&period; Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark&comma; as well as Assistant U&period;S&period; Attorney Barbara Ward&comma; Acting Chief of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The New Jersey U&period;S&period; Attorney’s Office reorganized its health care fraud practice in 2010 and created a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses&period; Since that time&comma; the office has recovered more than &dollar;1&period;32 billion in health care fraud and government fraud settlements&comma; judgments&comma; fines&comma; restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act&comma; the Food&comma; Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Defense counsel&colon; Michael Bachner Esq&period;&comma; New York<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;justice&period;gov&sol;usao-nj&sol;pr&sol;new-york-doctor-pleads-guilty-connection-test-referral-scheme-new-jersey-clinical-lab-0">Original PressReleases&&num;8230&semi;<&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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