Garden State Cardiovascular Specialists P.C. (Garden State), a cardiology practice which owns and operates several facilities in New Jersey under the name NJ MedCare/NJ Heart, has agreed to pay more than $3.6 million to resolve allegations that its facilities falsely billed federal health care programs for tests that were not medically necessary, announced today by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman for the District of New Jersey.
The settlement announced today resolves allegations that Garden State and its principals, Jasjit Walia M.D. and Preet Randhawa M.D., submitted claims to Medicare for various cardiology diagnostic tests and procedures, including stress tests, cardiac catheterizations and external counterpulsation, which were not medically necessary.
The allegations resolved by today’s settlement were raised in a lawsuit filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The act allows private citizens with knowledge of fraud to bring civil actions on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery. The whistleblower, Cheryl Mazurek, will receive more than $648,000 as part of today’s settlement.
The settlement is the culmination of an investigation conducted by special agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert.
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