U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger | U.S. Department of Justice
A businessman based in New York has admitted to participating in a health care fraud and illegal kickback conspiracy, according to Vikas Khanna, Attorney for the United States. Mansinh Chaudhari, also known as "Monsi Koova," aged 55 from Illinois, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court. He was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute.
Court documents reveal that Chaudhari owned and operated a consulting company in New York that purchased information related to prospective Medicare beneficiaries. This information was used to ensure Medicare would reimburse the purchase of COVID-19 tests. Chaudhari then sold this beneficiary information to medical providers across several states, including New Jersey, Tennessee, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah. These providers submitted claims for up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month that were neither needed nor ordered by beneficiaries.
To hide their activities, Chaudhari and his associates created sham agreements and issued fraudulent invoices under the guise of marketing or consulting services. The scheme resulted in a loss of more than $5.3 million to Medicare.
The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, while conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute can result in up to five years imprisonment. Each count may also incur a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Sentencing is set for April 29, 2025.
Khanna credited several agencies with leading the investigation that resulted in Chaudhari's guilty plea: special agents from the FBI under Acting Special Agent Nelson I. Delgado; Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General led by Naomi Gruchacz; U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General under Patrick Hegarty; and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General led by Christopher F. Algieri.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht from the Special Prosecutions Division represented the government under supervision from the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit.
Chaudhari's defense is represented by Paul D’Emilia Esq., based in New York.
