Federal Reports

Babar Iqbal, a doctor from Los Angeles, California, and owner of Riverside Regional Surgery Center, pleaded guilty on June 10, 2020, in Superior Court of California, Riverside to several charges related to health care insurance fraud. As part of the scheme, Iqbal targeted patients whose insurance paid higher reimbursement amounts to providers who were considered out of network and performed services that were medically unnecessary. Iqbal also conspired with marketers to obtain fraudulent insurance policies for individuals who did not have health insurance. The marketers then referred these individuals to Iqbal at the Riverside Regional Surgery Center. In return, the marketers received a commission based on the reimbursement amount the insurance companies paid Iqbal. The Amtrak health insurance plan was fraudulently billed approximately $1,653,210 as a result of the scheme. Iqbal will be sentenced at a future date.

Joseph Kieffer, a marketer from Los Angeles, California, pleaded guilty on July 20, 2020, in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, to conspiracy to pay illegal renumerations related to a health care fraud scheme. Kieffer paid kickbacks to patients and to marketers for patient referrals for medically unnecessary compounded drugs. As part of the scheme, Fusion RX Compounding Pharmacy then billed health care providers for the compounded drugs at rates much higher than average medications. The owner of Fusion Rx Compounding Pharmacy was also charged for his role in the scheme. The Amtrak health insurance plan was fraudulently billed approximately $17,000 as a result of the scheme. Criminal judicial proceedings are pending.