Neurosurgeon Pays $2 Million to Settle False Procedures Scam

A Texas neurosurgeon agreed to pay $2.1 million to resolve allegations he submitted false claims for the placement of electro-acupuncture devices, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

According to the DOJ, Dr. Rajesh Bindal billed Medicare and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program for surgical implantation of neurostimulator electrodes. These are invasive procedures usually requiring use of an operating room. As a result, Medicare and the FEHBP pay thousands of dollars per procedure. However, neither Bindal nor his staff performed these surgical procedures, according to the allegations.

Instead, patients received devices used for electro-acupuncture, which were then billed as surgeries, ...