Muhammad Cheema, MD, 47, of Pittsford, NY, who was convicted of healthcare fraud, was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison. The defendant was also to pay restitution totaling $813,495.48 to the victim healthcare benefit programs that he defrauded. Between 2013 and 2017, Dr. Cheema submitted approximately 5,000 false claims for psychotherapy services that he did not render. Based on these false claims, the defendant obtained payments totaling approximately $218,368 from healthcare benefit programs, including those operated by Excellus, MPV and others. In addition, from time to time, in response to audits and otherwise, Cheema created false medical records in an effort to substantiate his fraudulent billings and conceal his scheme.
