A cardiologist has set a record for health care fraud in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Jose Katz, 68, of Closter, N.J., pleaded guilty in a federal court April 10 admitting to a record $19 million billing fraud scheme. HHS Office of Inspector General and FBI records show that the loss amount is the largest ever recorded in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut for an individual practitioner convicted of health care fraud.
According to the
FBI press release, Katz’s conspiracy to commit health care fraud centered on the ordering and performance of a battery of diagnostic tests for nearly all the patients he treated, regardless of their symptoms. His also falsely diagnosed a majority of his Medicare and Medicaid patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and debilitating and inoperable angina.
“(Katz) also admitted to making the diagnoses to justify prescribing and administering an unnecessary treatment for those patients called enhanced external counter pulsation or EECP. Katz even prescribed EECP treatments for some patients with contraindications for the treatment, therefore subjecting those patients to a substantial risk of serious injury or death,” according to the FBI press release.
From 2005 through 2012, Medicare and Medicaid paid Katz more than $15.6 million just for the EECP treatments, most of which were fraudulent.
Katz faces 57 to 87 years in prison and could pay big fines to the defrauded insurers. He is also expected to be ordered to pay restitution to victims of his offenses.