A St. Louis area physician, Dr. Asim Muhammad Ali, has been sentenced to 70 months in federal prison following convictions in two separate criminal cases, one filed in 2020 and another in 2024.
U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey handed down the sentence on Monday and ordered Dr. Ali, 54, to pay restitution totaling $1,845,916 for the earlier case and $3,902 for the more recent offense.
In the first case from 2020, Dr. Ali participated in a scheme involving kickbacks for urine specimens sent for testing to Central Diagnostic Laboratory, a company he owned. He also admitted to signing prescriptions for controlled substances for patients suspected of selling or giving away their medications and pre-signing prescriptions without evaluating patients or reviewing their medical needs at his other business, Institute for Pain Management LLC.
Restitution from this case includes payments of $950,381 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), $13,993 to Tricare, and $881,542 to Missouri Medicaid.
The second case involved fraudulent billing practices with Psych Care Consultants LLC in 2024. Dr. Ali agreed to provide services to Medicare patients but billed under Dr. Mohd Azfar Malik’s name and Medicare number. Although claims were submitted for “annual wellness visits,” Dr. Ali did not see patients in person but instead conducted brief phone calls before submitting claims that led Medicare to pay out nearly $4,000.
Dr. Ali pleaded guilty in both cases: In 2020 to conspiracy and illegal distribution of controlled substances as well as paying kickbacks and submitting false claims; in 2024 to conspiracy related charges involving controlled substances.
Dr. Malik also pleaded guilty to making false statements about health care matters by billing insurers for services he did not perform personally—sometimes while out of state or abroad—and submitting claims knowing that Dr. Ali was not authorized by the DEA at that time. The losses attributed to these actions totaled $19,442 across government programs and private insurers.
Dr. Malik received five years’ probation in August along with a $20,000 fine and an order of restitution matching the loss amount; he has agreed to surrender his DEA registrations permitting him to administer controlled substances.
“Health care providers who unlawfully distribute dangerous and addictive controlled substances not only endanger the lives of vulnerable individuals but also undermine the integrity of our nation’s health care system. Dr. Ali exploited the trust placed in him by his patients and engaged in kickback schemes for personal financial gain,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Today’s sentencing highlights HHS-OIG’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to hold health care providers accountable for their unlawful actions.”
The investigation was conducted by HHS-OIG along with assistance from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric prosecuted both cases; Derek Wiseman and Jonathan Clow assisted with prosecution of the 2020 matter.
