AG: Kings Point doctor ran fraudulent 'kickback scheme'

A Kings Point doctor allegedly required patients at his radiology clinic to undergo unnecessary medical tests, submitted the "false claims" to Medicaid and bribed other physicians for medical referrals, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday.

Dr. Payam Toobian, 51, was indicted and arraigned Monday on an array of felony charges including third-degree grand larceny, third-degree health care fraud, eight counts of first-degree falsifying business records and three counts of violating the social services law statute prohibiting the payment of kickbacks related to the provision of services under the state’s Medicaid program. He pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on recognizance, according to online court documents.

“New Yorkers should be able to trust that their doctors are working to heal them, not profit off of their suffering,” James said in a news release. “Bribery and kickback schemes corrupt our health care system and make it impossible for patients to receive the care that they need.”

Through his corporation, America’s Imaging, Toobian operated Empire Imaging, a diagnostic radiology center in Forest Hills, Queens, the release said.

Toobian allegedly ran a "kickback scheme" for more than 10 years, starting in 2006, and "Empire Imaging received more than $1 million in paid claims relating to patient referrals from those physicians" he bribed, according to the release. He gave three unnamed physicians gift cards, cash and checks totaling to more than $547,000 in exchange for referrals, the release said. He allegedly then put some of the patients through unneeded tests and procedures before submitting “false claims” to Medicaid for those tests, according to the release.

Toobian could not immediately be reached for comment. His attorney, Mark Avery Furman, did not immediately return requests for comment.

To increase his profits, Toobian also allegedly had his employees add more unordered radiological procedures to orders submitted by referring physicians, according to the Attorney General's office.

Some of the unnecessary tests conducted on patients included MRIs of the brain, cervical spine and lumbar spine, all “with contrast,” which required patients to undergo unnecessary and invasive injections, the agency said in the release.

The names of the physicians were not released and it remained unclear Monday if any face charges.

James has also filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against Toobian, America’s Imaging and other unnamed defendants for violating federal law as well as the New York State False Claims Act and other "civil causes of action," the release said.

Toobian is scheduled to return to Queens Supreme Court on Sept. 12.