Saratoga Surgeon Sentenced To Prison For Health Care Fraud

SARATOGA, CA — An orthopedic surgeon from Saratoga has been sentenced to a year in prison for providing a false billing statement to a health care benefits program, acting United States Attorney Alex G. Tse announced Wednesday.

Gregory Belcher, 56, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in prison following an eight-week trial.

Belcher and his wife, Vilasini Ganesh, 47, were both convicted in December of crimes related to health care fraud.

Ganesh's sentencing is scheduled for April 25.

Prosecutors said Belcher submitted a false claim in connection with a billing matter related to the physical therapy practice he conducted from the offices of the Campbell Medical Group in Saratoga.

Ganesh, who is also Belcher's office partner, submitted false and fraudulent claims to several health care benefit programs for services she knew were not properly payable, and she submitted claims for patients who had been seen by another physician provider no longer affiliated with the practice, prosecutors said.

The two were indicted on July 13, 2017 and were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, multiple counts of health care fraud and making a false statement relating to health care matters, prosecutors said.

Belcher was convicted of health care fraud, and Ganesh was convicted of five counts of health care fraud and five counts of making false statements, prosecutors said.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock