Secaucus Hospital Owner Named In Lawsuit Alleging Insurance Fraud

SECAUCUS, NJ — A New York doctor connected to Yan Moshe, the owner of Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, has been sued by Geico insurance company, alleging insurance fraud.

The doctor is Conrad F. Cean, MD, who owns New York Pain Management Associates and 5 Borough Anesthesia, both based in New York state.

Lawyers for Geico filed the lawsuit Monday, Sept. 14, of this week in New York federal court, alleging that Cean and his pain management clinics owe Geico $598,000. Geico lawyers say Dr. Cean billed the insurance company for a myriad of medically unnecessary services, "including bogus examinations, urine drug screens, injections, pain management procedures and anesthesia."

All of this happened when patients came to see Dr. Cean after they were involved in car accidents; his practice submitted claims for insurance coverage under GEICO New York's no-fault insurance policies.

Moshe was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. However, the lawsuit also alleges that between 2018 and 2020, Moshe, Hudson Regional Hospital and two other clinics he owns in North Jersey paid kickbacks to Cean in exchange for patient referrals.

The two clinics are Healthplus Surgery in Saddle Brook and Dynamic Surgery in Hackensack; Moshe owns both in addition to the Secaucus hospital, which he took over ownership of in 2018.

Healthplus Surgery is same facility that was shut down by the state in 2018, after a New Jersey Department of Health investigation revealed that lapses in sterilizing and cleaning needles may have exposed a massive number of patients to bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and even HIV.

Moshe's two surgery centers are now the subject of 19 lawsuits, including federal class-actions, as a result.

A media spokeswoman for Moshe told Patch at the time that sterilization techniques were never questioned at Hudson Regional.

"Hudson Regional Hospital is a completely separate entity from HealthPlus, and sterilization standards at Hudson Regional Hospital have not been an issue," said Marjorie Kaplan, a spokeswoman for the hospital, in 2018.

As the Secaucus Patch has also reported, Moshe is currently in the midst of an ambitious attempt to take over ownership of Bayonne Medical Center and the Hoboken hospital from CarePoint Health System, which is trying to get out of the hospital business.

CarePoint has been resisting the sale, even asking the state of New Jersey to step in and prevent Moshe from buying the land on which the hospitals sit. Moshe has promised that if he is able to buy the Bayonne and Hoboken hospitals, that he will keep them open.

BMC Hospital LLC seized on this latest black eye for Moshe, releasing a statement Thursday that read:

“The alleged kickback scheme unveiled this week in federal court is disturbing and supports all those who believe that Yan Moshe and Hudson Regional Healthcare cannot be trusted to responsibly operate a critical community institution like Bayonne Medical Center."

However, the owners of BMC Hospital LLC have also been sued, multiple times, for the exact same thing: Foes Of Secaucus Hospital Owner Also Sued For Insurance Fraud

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time Moshe has been accused of improper behavior, as both he and Hudson Regional Hospital continue to be subject to a federal court injunction issued in June, and are facing an $89 million RICO lawsuit from GEICO for alleged fraud," said Wayne Hatami, the president of BMC Hospital LLC.

This latest lawsuit comes on top of this lawsuit filed against Moshe last year, in which Moshe and his North Jersey surgery centers are accused of billing another auto insurer, American Transit, millions in fraudulent no-fault insurance claims.

A spokesman for Moshe countered that several principals at Bayonne Medical Center, LLC have similarly been sued by Geico for filing bogus insurance claims.

The Geico lawsuit says Moshe paid Dr. Cean out of Hudson Regional's bank accounts, in exchange for referrals to his two surgery centers.

Lawyers for Geico cited these examples of payments they say were kickbacks:

• From 9/4/18 to 12/14/28, HRH (Hudson Regional Hospital) cut 5 checks to Cean, totaling $48,284. During the same period, Cean referred at least 55 GEICO insureds to Healthplus Surgery Center, and 50 to Dynamic Surgery Center.
• From 1/3/19 to 3/12/19, HRH cut 3 checks to Cean, totaling $38,592. During the same period, Cean referred at least 33 GEICO insureds to Healthplus Surgery Center, and 26 to Dynamic Surgery Center.
• From 5/24/19 to 8/16/19, HRH cut 3 checks to Cean, totaling $38,592. During the same period, Cean referred at least 33 GEICO insureds to Healthplus Surgery Center, and 26 to Dynamic Surgery Center.
• From 9/23/19 to 12/13/19, HRH cut 3 checks to Cean, totaling $55,008. During the same period, Cean referred at least 27 GEICO insureds to Healthplus Surgery Center.
• Between 1/8/20 and 2/10/20, HRH cut 2 checks to Cean, totaling $27,648. During the same period, Cean referred at least 22 GEICO insureds to Healthplus Surgery Center.

Moshe has since changed the corporate name of Healthplus Surgery to Integrated Specialty, and changed the corporate name of Dynamic Surgery to Hackensack Specialty.

New York’s “No-Fault” insurance laws are designed to ensure that injured victims of car accidents can receive the healthcare they need. No-Fault Benefits include up to $50,000 per person for healthcare costs after an accident.

Geico said it seeks to recover the substantial damages it suffered from Cean, and also says it is on the hook to pay approximately $3 million in claims it says was fraudulently submitted by Cean. Geico would like a federal judge to absolve them of that $3 million.

Keep reading: Secaucus Hospital Owner Fights To Buy Bayonne, Hoboken Hospitals (June 2020)

New Owner Of Secaucus Hospital Sued For Saddle Brook Facility (January 2019)