N.J. cardiologist who orchestrated $1.9M fraud scheme gets prison sentence

The former owner and operator of a Monmouth County-based medical practice who recently admitted orchestrating a nearly $2 million health care fraud scheme was sentenced Tuesday to two years and 11 months in prison, officials said.
Fazal Panezai, 76, of Morganville, who ran the Matawan-Aberdeen Heart & Medical Center, submitted false claims to at least six health insurance benefit programs for years for office visits that either never happened or did not take place for as long as he claimed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey said.
In one instance, Panezai submitted claims for office visits lasting 27.9 hours for one day’s worth of office visits on May 27, 2022, according to a release from the office.
He also billed health insurance providers over $80,000 for office visits when he was out of the country and not conducting any office visits, federal prosecutors said.
In addition, Panezai submitted claims for office visits when patients only picked up a prescription for a controlled substance from the front desk and never met with him, the office said.
The false claims caused insurance plans to issue reimbursement checks to the center and Panezai kept the illicit profits, which totaled more than $1.9 million, investigators said.
He pleaded guilty to participating in a health care fraud scheme in April and recently agreed to permanently forfeit his medical license.
Panezai told the state medical board that he stopped practicing medicine in New Jersey in January and agreed to retire from practicing medicine to settle the board’s inquiry into his criminal conduct, authorities said.
His retirement is considered a permanent revocation of his medical license, according to authorities.
Panezai also faces charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact with a female patient leveled by the New Jersey Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, officials said.
He was indicted by a state grand jury on Aug. 31, 2023 regarding the alleged sexual contact with a patient on Sept. 4, 2018. That matter is still pending, with the next court proceeding scheduled for Nov. 15, according to the consent order.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at [email protected].