Multiple Indian-Americans charged with dental practice fraud
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Jan, 2023 12:05 PM
New York, Jan 27 (IANS) Eight Indian-Americans are among 12 dental practice owners and co-conspirators who have been charged for allegedly engaging in a multifaceted racketeering conspiracy through a multi-state network of dental practices in the US state of Pennsylvania.
The defendants were allegedly part of a wide-ranging scheme to defraud Medicaid, US Immigration authorities, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and to launder the fraud proceeds, a Department of Justice (DOJ) release said on Thursday.
The individuals were charged with operating and participating in a series of dental practices and related companies (the Savani Group) that engaged in visa fraud, health care fraud, wire fraud involving federal tax evasion, and money laundering.
Dentist brothers Bhaskar Savani, 57, and Niranjan Savani, 51, owned and controlled the Savani Group dental practices.
The third brother, Arun Savani, 55, owned and managed the Savani Group companies and was responsible for the Group's financial affairs.
The trio allegedly conspired to recruit foreign workers for US work visas while concealing the workers' true job titles and responsibilities.
Sunil Philip, 57, who was an outside accountant for the Savani Group, allegedly engaged in a wire fraud scheme to evade federal taxes along with the three brothers.
The Savani brothers, along with two other employees of Savani Group, allegedly executed a scheme to use nominee owners of "on paper" dental practices to obtain and continue to profit from Medicaid contracts after managed care companies terminated the Savani Group dental practices' Pennsylvania Medicaid contracts.
They also allegedly conspired to place adulterated and misbranded dental devices in US commerce, according to the DOJ.
Vivek Savani, 35, Bharatkumar Parasana, 55, and Hiteshkumar Goyani, 39, and Piyusha Patel, 41, were employed under the H1-B visa program under the pretense of serving in specialty occupations for the Savani Group but actually performed office support roles for the Group's dental practices.
Bhaskar, Arun, Niranjan and Sunil Philip made their initial court appearances on January 20 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Available in a range of standards, including gold and silver, the special collectors' coin was designed by Heena Glover and features an image of a lotus, India's national flower, alongside one of Gandhi's most famous quotes -- "My life is my message".
The pill was licensed for adults 18 and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or heart disease. Patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 would take four pills of the drug, known molnupiravir, twice a day for five days.
For the first time in history, three-day Diwali celebrations will be held from November 2-4, showcasing a spectacular digital mural on the WTC podium and fireworks over the Hudson River.
Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser at Health Canada, said Canadian officials attended that meeting and are watching the process in the U.S. carefully as Canada makes its own decision about the pediatric vaccine.
The White House issued updated guidance Monday about its new rules for incoming international travellers, which are scheduled to take effect Nov. 8. Those rules, which require foreign nationals to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the U.S. for non-essential purposes, clarify the requirements around testing and contact tracing, in particular for unvaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents re-entering the country.
