The mayor of the New Jersey town of West New York is on trial this week for his alleged participation in a pay-for-patients fraud scheme called Operation RayScam.
Dr. Felix Roque is a physician who has been accused of referring patients to imaging companies operated by Rehan Zuberi, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges that he paid several million dollars to doctors between 2007 and 2014 in exchange for referrals that generated $8 million in Medicare payments. The case has ensnared several dozen healthcare providers in New Jersey.
Zuberi is the government's key witness in the case against Roque, according to coverage of the trial published by the Hudson County View. Zuberi testified that he personally bribed Roque at the mayor's office on two occasions. Zuberi paid $100 to $150 for each patient referral for an MRI scan, and $50 for CT scans.
A number of other witnesses have testified to making payments to Roque in exchange for patient referrals during the trial, according to the newspaper's coverage. Zuberi's wife, Humara Pachara, also testified to making donations to Roque's fundraising events in exchange for referrals.
