Feds Settle Fraud Lawsuit Against N. Smithfield Medical Clinic

PROVIDENCE, RI — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that a settlement has been reached to resolve claims that a group of Rhode Island medical providers fraudulently billed Medicaid and Medicare for complex urine drug screens they didn't perform.

Defendants linked to Zaheer Shah, M.D., owner of Park Square Urgent Care and Park Square Laboratory in North Smithfield, will pay a total of $650,000 to settle a lawsuit filed in March of 2020. The payment settles allegations that Shah and his affiliates in 2014 and 2015 received over $1.5 million in payments for high-complexity urine tests they did not perform. Instead, Park Square performed only medium-complexity tests.

The settlement figure "is based upon an analysis of the defendants' ability to pay based on an extensive review of their current financial condition," said Richard B. Myrus, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, in a news release.

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According to the civil complaint, Shah and his affiliates submitted tens of thousands of false billing claims to the government. For most urine tests, Park Square Urgent Care first ran a moderate complexity drug screen, billed Medicare or Medicaid for a high-complexity drug screen, and then sent the urine specimen to an outside confirmation laboratory to obtain high-complexity results. The outside lab then also billed Medicare or Medicaid on the same specimen, the complaint alleged.

Billing was conducted in part by Paramount Medical Billing, a former North Smithfield entity that was owned by Christine Shah, Dr. Shah's wife, the complaint noted. Paramount's registration to transact business in the state of Rhode Island was revoked in 2018.

Shah, an Arizona resident, knew what he was doing and had "actual knowledge, reckless disregard or deliberate ignorance" of the fact that his lab was only capable of performing medium-complexity drug tests. He also knew that fraudulent billing was taking place, prosecutors alleged.

In 2018, Park Square's non-medical assets were purchased by Rhode Island Health Group, LLC — an entity partially owned by Shah. The new owners received the benefits of Park Square's fraudulently derived value, according to the complaint.

The federal lawsuit named Park Square Urgent Care, Inc.; the Arizona-based Primacare, Inc.; Biltmore Medical; Biltmore Medical A; Advanced Urgent Care; Rhode Island Health Group, LLC; and Zaheer Shah, M.D. The entities conducted business at 63, 65, and 73 Eddie Dowling Highway in North Smithfield and at 100 Smithfield Avenue in Pawtucket.

The Primacare corporation named in the lawsuit has no connection with Prima CARE, the medical group based in Southeastern Massachusetts, a spokesperson for Prima CARE confirmed on Tuesday.