(SitNews) Anchorage, Alaska - The Alaska Department of Law, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) announced this week the arrest of an Anchorage area physician for fraudulently billing Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of dollars and for tampering with physical evidence in an ongoing investigation.

Dr. Shubhranjan Ghosh, 39, of Anchorage, Alaska and the founder of Ghosh Psychiatric Services, was arrested Tuesday evening on a criminal complaint alleging that he committed medical assistance fraud, scheme to defraud and evidence tampering.

The charging document states Dr. Ghosh fraudulently billed Medicaid $170,000 for services allegedly provided to patients that were not present during the date and time of the billing. Dr. Ghosh additionally billed Medicaid over $110,000 for psychiatric services allegedly provided to his office manager’s children and over $20,000 for services he allegedly provided to the children of an ex-girlfriend. Travel records further indicate that Dr. Ghosh billed Medicaid $42,500 for providing psychiatric services to patients in his office while traveling internationally and domestically. After a 2013 search warrant on his medical practice, Dr. Ghosh attempted to falsify medical records to support three years of fraudulent billing for the children of his office manager.

The Anchorage District Court set bail at $100,000 cash. Dr. Ghosh must also wear an electronic monitor, surrender his U.S. passport and sign a waiver of extradition upon release pending the resolution of this matter. Dr. Ghosh was previously prohibited from billing Medicaid as a result of the state’s ongoing investigation.

The indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Dr. Ghosh, as with all criminal defendants, is innocent until proven guilty.

The case was initiated by citizen complaint and jointly investigated by the Alaska Department of Law, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police Department, Department of Health and Social Services, Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. This case is a great example of how state and federal collaboration can work to combat fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system.

The Alaska MFCU is part of the Attorney General’s Office. The MFCU is responsible for investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud and abuse, neglect or financial exploitations of patients in any facility that accepts Medicaid funds.

On the Web:

Information filed in the Ghosh complaint can be found on the MFCU website
http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/mfcu.html

Source of News: 

Alaska Department of Law
www.law.state.ak.us

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