Queens Cardiologist To Pay $2M To Settle Kickback Charges: Feds

OZONE PARK, QUEENS — A former Queens cardiologist will pay $2 million to settle claims that he paid kickbacks to other physicians for patient referrals.

Investigators found that Ghanshyam Bhambhani paid other doctors to refer patients insured by Medicare, Medicaid and the Federal Employees’ Health Benefits Program to his Ozone Park practice, according to federal prosecutors.

The kickbacks were disguised as rent payments, prosecutors said.

Bhambhani was also accused of falsifying records to justify the cardiac procedures.

“Paying kickbacks for patient referrals erodes the integrity of our healthcare system and costs taxpayers precious dollars," Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Seth DuCharme said in a statement. "Doctors must put patients first, not treat them like commodities unscrupulously paid for with government funds."

About $630,000 of the settlement payment will go to the state of New York, while the rest will go to the federal government, according to a news release.