Doctor, pharmacist, CPA charged in unusual Medicare fraud scheme, authorities said

Three Nassau County professionals -- a doctor, a pharmacist and a CPA -- were arrested by federal agents Thursday and charged with operating a highly unusual and "massive" fraud scheme involving billing Medicare and private insurance carriers for prescriptions never filled, federal officials said.

Law enforcement officials said they had never encountered such a scheme, referred to as "B-scripting" by those charged, in the metropolitan area, according to sources.

The scheme involved the doctor, Mohammed Hadi, 31, of Old Westbury, writing a legitimate prescription, or an "A-script" for either a patient or an accomplice, and sending the recipient to one of two pharmacies controlled by Salman Siddiqui, 30, of Merrick, authorities said. Siddiqui filled out the legitimate prescription, but sent numerous false prescriptions, or "B-scripts" to Medicare for reimbursement, according to court papers.

Hadi worked at Hadi Medical Group in Long Beach and Plainview, and Siddiqui, who was often known by the nickname Sal, operated Sal's Pharmacy in Levittown and Harry's Pharmacy in Hicksville, according the papers filed by Eastern District United States Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz.

Rizwan Ahmed, 30, of New Hyde Park, the CPA, Siddiqui, and other pharmacy workers created "false invoices to document phony purchases of inventory" from other pharmacies, authorities alleged.

In all, the two pharmacies received $3 million from Medicare starting in 2012, the papers said. But officials could not immediately determine how many of the submitted prescriptions were legitimate.

In one email, in court papers, Ahmed said to Hadi: "there is no money to be made legitimately without b scripting the [expletive] out of everyone. Even if our business is 75 % A scripts/25 % B scripts we will MAKE A LOT of MONEY and we don't have to worry about a drug addict getting us busted."

Hadi replied, according to the email, filed in court papers: "Sounds good."

The accused were careful not to submit false prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled substances whose sale is more closely monitored, sources said.

But ironically, the joint investigation by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nassau County police, and the Inspector General's office of the Department of Health and Human Services began with a tip from an oxycodone addict for whom Hadi had written a prescription for the narcotic as a favor, sources and court papers said. When the addict was questioned by investigators in an unrelated matter, he revealed part of the scheme, said court papers and sources.

Hadi, Ahmed and Siddiqui were arraigned at the federal court in Central Islip and each released on a $500,000 bond by federal Magistrate A. Kathleen Tomlinson.

Tomlinson ordered Hadi not to write prescriptions for any controlled substances. Hadi had requested to be allowed to do so because he was a specialist in pain management and there was only one charge against him involving oxycodone -- that involving the person whose prescription led to the case against him.

Hadi, Ahmed and Siddiqui were not required to enter a plea to charges of conspiracy, health care fraud and illegal distribution of oxycodone.

Hadi's attorney, Hassan Ahmad of Manhattan, declined to comment afterward, as did Ahmed's attorney, Sanford Talkin of Manhattan, and Siddiqui's attorney, John Carman of Garden City. Treinis Gatz also declined to comment.

If convicted, the three each face up to 20 years in prison.

With John Valenti

By Robert E. Kessler

Robert.Kessler@newsday.com

Bob Kessler covers federal law, including law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA, IRS and ATF, as well as the federal courts.