A New Jersey cardiologist has pled guilty to taking cash payments as a kickback for referring patients to a diagnostic imaging center in Orange, NJ.
Dr. Shashi Agarwal pled guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of soliciting and receiving more than $100,000 in cash kickbacks, in violation of the federal healthcare antikickback statute. Agarwal operates his own cardiology practice in East Orange, NJ.
According to federal authorities, Orange MRI paid Agarwal for each MRI and CT scan he referred from early 2009 through December 2011. He received $100 for each Medicare or Medicaid patient he referred for an MRI and $50 for each patient referred for a CT scan. Agarwal also admitted that he agreed to refer as many as 20 MRI scans to Orange MRI each month.
Agarwal is the 10th person to plead guilty in the U.S. government's investigation into the case, in which the operators of Orange Community MRI made payments to healthcare providers for diagnostic testing, in violation of federal law.
