A Connecticut physician was sentenced to four years in prison for a Medicaid fraud and kickback scheme.
Ananthakumar Thillainathan, MD, owns MDCareNow, a practice with offices in Stratford and Milford, Conn., according to an April 27 Justice Department new release. In November, Thillainathan pleaded guilty to submitting fraudulent psychotherapy claims to Connecticut Medicaid.
He also admitted in his guilty plea to paying a patient recruiting company to bring Medicaid patients to his practice. The Justice Department said between November 2019 and May 2021, Dr. Thillainathan the company to recruit more than 1,000 patients. Connecticut's Medicaid program reimbursed Dr. Thillainathan's practice more than $1 million for services provided to these patients.
Dr. Thillainathan was also ordered to pay $1.67 million in restitution, according to the release.