A New York doctor was charged in federal court in Boston for allegedly receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans. Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, 75, of East Setauket, NY was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. According to the charging documents, Fishberger, an internist in Long Island, NY, was a licensed medical doctor in the State of New York for approximately 47 years. It is alleged that from approximately June 2013 through December 2019, Fishberger conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, and a salesperson for the company, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary TCD scans in exchange for kickbacks.
It is further alleged that Fishberger and his co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, including private insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Fishberger was paid cash kickbacks of approximately $100 per test. According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $891,978 to Medicare and private insurance companies.
