WASHINGTON – An Indian-American doctor couple has been indicted on chargesof committing healthcare fraud by performing unnecessary medical tests andprocedures on patients to get payouts from insurance companies.

Dr Ashis K Rakhit, 65, and his wife Jayati Gupta Rakhit, 56, specialise incardiovascular disease and internal medicine and practised in Cleveland,Ohio.

According to the indictment, the Rakhits ordered and performed unnecessarymedical tests between 2011 and 2018, including unnecessary nuclear stresstests, cardiac catheterizations, bone density scans, echocardiograms, EKGs,carotid artery scans, venous ultrasounds of the legs and abdominalultrasounds.

They also recorded false symptoms in patient records to justify medicallyunnecessary tests on patients, including shortness of breath, palpitations,hypertension and abnormalities in breathing, according to the indictment.

The Rakhits billed Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers with inflatedcodes to reflect a service more costly than that which was actuallyperformed, according to the indictment.

The Rakhits also intentionally distributed and dispensed controlledsubstances outside the usual course of medical practice.

Ashis Rakhit is charged with distributing Percocet and Xanax in 2017, whileJayati Rakhit is charged with distributing Tramadol, according to theindictment.

“This couple violated the trust of their patients, the taxpayers and thecommunity,” US attorney Justin E Herdman said.

“They performed unnecessary medical tests and billed for services theydidn’t actually provide in exchange for prescription medications – all ofthis at a time when our region is inundated in opioid deaths andaddiction,” he said.

“Not only did these physicians put their patients through unnecessarymedical procedures so they could line their pockets with extra income, theyalso prescribed controlled narcotics that were not medically required,”said FBI special agent in charge Stephen D Anthony.