Morris Couple, Parsippany Biz Owners Defrauded Insurers of $4.3M

A married couple living in Rockaway with a mobile diagnostic testing company admitted to receiving more than $4.3 million from Medicare and private insurance companies during an 8-year period.

Nita and Kirtish Patel, both 53, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Newark federal court charges of health care fraud, United States Attorney Paul Fishman said.

From 2006 to June 2014, the Patels owned and operated Biosound Medical Services Inc. and Heart Solutions in Parsippany, which were mobile diagnostic companies and approved Medicare providers.

The companies provided testing, including ultrasounds, echocardiograms and nerve conduction studies used to diagnose heart defects, blood clots, abdominal aortic aneurysms and other serious medical conditions, Fishman said.

Kirtish Patel admitted that from October 2008 to June 2014 he would fraudulently interpret and write diagnostic reports produced by Biosound despite having no medical license, Fishman said.

Nita Patel admitted to assisting her husband in forging physician’s signatures on the fraudulent reports and representing to Medicare that the neurological testing conducted by the company was supervised by a licensed neurologist.

As a result, Fishman said, the Patels were paid more than $4,386,133.75 by Medicare and other insurance providers.

Both are scheduled for sentencing on March 15, 2016 and each face a maximum of 10 years in prison along with a $250,000 fine or twice the amount of gains from the offense.