Federal prosecutors have secured another guilty plea in the case of a New Jersey imaging center that allegedly paid kickbacks to physicians for referrals.
Chirag Patel was the former executive director of Orange Community MRI, which investigators believe was at the center of a scheme to pay bribes to healthcare providers in exchange for referrals. Patel pled guilty to one count of soliciting and receiving illegal cash kickbacks, in violation of federal law.
Patel was among a number of New Jersey healthcare providers who were arrested in December 2011 in connection with the crackdown. Investigators believe that Orange MRI made nearly $2 million in revenues based on patient referrals for which cash kickbacks were paid.
Patel is the ninth person charged in the case to plead guilty and the second member of Orange MRI; the former owner and medical director of the center, Ashokkumar Babaria, pled guilty on September 27.
Patel faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine; he is due to be sentenced in February 2013. He has agreed to forfeit $89,000 in proceeds from the scheme, investigators said.
