A veteran New York physician faces serious charges after his alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud healthcare programs through medically unnecessary tests. Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, an internist from East Setauket, N.Y., has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, as announced by federal prosecutors.
As reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Fishberger, 75, with nearly half a century in medicine, is said to have conspired with a mobile medical diagnostics company and a salesperson from June 2013 to December 2019. They purportedly orchestrated the ordering of unneeded transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, which measure blood flow in the brain, in return for cash kickbacks.
This fraudulent activity has allegedly led to almost $892,000 in improper billing to Medicare and private insurers. In what appears to be a clear abuse of trust and ethical standards, false diagnoses were used to justify the unnecessary scans. In response to these charges, Fishberger, who has agreed to plead guilty, could face up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine reaching $250,000.
Multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, have been involved in the investigation of this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard Locker and Mackenzie Queenin, from the Health Care Fraud Unit, are prosecuting. Sentences, based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes, will be decided by a federal district court judge.
It's important to remember, amidst these serious allegations, that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. A plea hearing for Dr. Fishberger has not been scheduled, and the details of the case remain allegations at this stage.
