An internal medicine physician who took cash kickbacks for referring patients to Orange Community MRI has been sentenced to five months in prison and five months of home confinement.
Dr. Mahesh Patel of Florham Park, NJ, received the sentence after pleading guilty. Seventeen individuals have been convicted in connection with the case, in which operators of Orange Community MRI paid physicians for patient referrals.
Patel pleaded guilty to receiving more than $6,000 in illegal cash kickbacks for referring MRI scans between 2010 and 2011, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey. In addition to jail time, Patel was ordered to serve two years of supervised release, forfeit $6,600, and pay a $30,000 fine.
The medical director of the center, Dr. Ashokkumar Babaria, has been sentenced to almost four years in prison and a $2 million fine. The former executive director of Orange MRI, Chirag Patel of Warren, NJ, awaits sentencing and has agreed to forfeit $89,180 in corrupt gains.
