RayScam probe snares mayor of New Jersey town

An ongoing probe into alleged kickbacks paid for patient referrals by a New Jersey imaging center chain has ensnared the mayor of West New York.

Dr. Felix Roque, mayor of West New York, NJ. New Jersey investigators say that Dr. Felix Roque was arrested for allegedly referring patients to Diagnostic Imaging Affiliates (DIA) in exchange for cash bribes and other kickbacks. DIA was operated by Rehan Zuberi, who pleaded guilty in May 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. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Roque operates the Pain Relief Center medical practice in West New York. State investigators charge that from 2007 to 2012 Roque referred patients for CT and MRI scans to Zuberi's centers in exchange for monthly cash payments. Some payments were allegedly delivered to Roque at the mayor's office at West New York Town Hall; the payments allegedly totaled $250,000.

Roque has been indicted on charges that include healthcare claims fraud and commercial bribery.