Press Release
Utica Woman Convicted on Charges of Health Care Fraud
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian announced today the conviction of a Utica woman on charges of health care fraud.
BONNIE MEISLIN, age 45, of Utica, was found guilty on February 25, 2015 following a jury trial in federal court in Utica. MEISLIN was employed at Upstate Pain Medicine, which had medical offices at 59 South First Street, Fulton, New York and 287 Genesee Street, Utica, New York. Upstate Pain Medicine was owned by Mahesh Kuthuru, M.D. Following a six day trial, MEISLIN was found guilty on 23 counts of health care fraud and 1 count of conspiring with Kuthuru to send false and fraudulent billings to Medicare. In 2009, Kuthuru had moved to Las Vegas where he opened a medical practice known as Desert Pain Management. Kuthuru began to spend the majority of his time in Las Vegas and returning to his Utica and Fulton offices only intermittently. From January 2010 through September 2011, MEISLIN and Kuthuru submitted false and fraudulent bills to Medicare which indicated that Kuthuru or another medical professional under his direct supervision had treated a patient in the New York offices, when in fact Kuthuru was either in Nevada or outside the country and had not seen the patient nor supervised a medical professional who had done so.
United States District Court Judge David N. Hurd scheduled sentencing for July 1, 2015. MEISLIN faces a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years and a fine of $250,000 on each of the health care fraud counts. The maximum prison term for the conspiracy count is five years and a fine of $250,000.
Kuthuru had earlier pled guilty to health care fraud and illegal distribution of prescriptions on January 22, 2015. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22, 2015 at 12:00 pm in Utica.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New York Department of Health, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the Health and Human Services Department, the Worker’s Compensation Board, Office of Inspector General, Excellus Special Investigations Unit, Safeguard Services and MVP Health Care, Special Investigations Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward R. Broton.
Updated March 18, 2015
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