NRI Pulse Staff Report
Atlanta, GA, April 29, 2019: Sheetal Kanar Kumar, M.D., 48, formerly of Stuart, Florida, was sentenced to prison yesterday after being convicted by a federal jury earlier this year of committing repeated acts of health care fraud.
The doctor was found guilty by a trial jury, on February 15, 2019, of committing 23 counts of health care fraud. U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra, sitting in Fort Pierce, Florida, sentenced Dr. Kumar to a total of 24 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to the court record, including evidence introduced at trial, Dr. Sheetal Kumar owned and operated the medical practice Advanced Healthcare for Women in Stuart, Florida. Dr. Kumar was an obstetrician and gynecologist who treated incontinence.
From at least as early as January 2014, until July 2017, Dr. Kumar submitted or caused the fraudulent submissions of claims to Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies. The fraudulent claims sought money for specific health care benefits, items, and services that were not provided as billed. As a result of such false and fraudulent claims, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies, made payments in the approximate amount of $637,000.
“Vulnerable patients sought out Dr. Kumar for critical medical treatment. Instead she was exploiting these individuals for personal gain,” said Shimon R. Richmond, Special Agent in Charge HHS-OIG. “We will continue to protect patients and federal healthcare programs by investigating individuals who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of beneficiaries and taxpayers.”
Attorney Richard Kibbey who represented Dr. Kumar, had pleaded not guilty to the indictment last year.
“It is disappointing that the federal government has elected to elevate honestly made billing errors to a criminal level,” Kibby had then said.
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