Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Ameet Goyal, MD, an ophthalmologist in Rye, New York, was sentenced to 96 months in prison for orchestrating a seven-year healthcare fraud scheme by falsely billing for millions of dollars of upcoded procedures, and also for fraudulently obtaining two Government-guaranteed loans intended to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic while he was facing charges on pretrial release for the healthcare fraud scheme. In addition to the prison term, Goyal was sentenced to five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay forfeiture of $3.6 million and restitution of $3.6 million. Goyal has already paid approximately $1.79 million toward these obligations.
US Attorney Damian Williams said: “A prominent ophthalmologist and oculoplastic surgeon who has now surrendered his medical license, Ameet Goyal was blinded by greed. Over a seven-year period, he preyed on the trust placed in him and cheated patients and insurance companies of $3.6 million in false charges. To cover his tracks, he created fictitious operative reports, seeded across hundreds of patient files, violating the integrity of patients’ medical records and making it more difficult for subsequent doctors to evaluate their care. He sent patients who could not pay the upcoded bills to a collection agency, decimating their credit. He pressured other doctors to join the scheme and threatened to retaliate against their livelihood and careers. Even after being arrested for this scheme, Goyal committed a breathtaking new fraud and stole $637,200 from the Paycheck Protection Program in the early days of a devastating pandemic. For his crimes, Goyal will serve a substantial sentence in prison.”
