A Southern California couple, Dr. Mohammad Rasekhi and Sheila Busheri, have agreed to a $10 million settlement over accusations of defrauding Medicare and Medi-Cal programs, in a scheme that allegedly spanned from 2014 to 2021. The settlement, which splits $4 million to the State of California and $6 million to the federal government, resolves claims that Rasekhi, the founder and chief medical officer of Southern California Medical Center, and his wife Busheri, as the CEO, participated in illegal kickback operations and false billing, as reported by KTLA.
The couple owned and operated a chain of clinics and Universal Diagnostic Laboratories, a medical testing facility, across Southern California. They faced allegations of paying third-party marketers to induce referrals and manipulating third-partner clinics through financial enticements for patient referrals to their lab, infractions that violate the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law, as per KTLA. The dubious practices purportedly resulted in the couple receiving excess reimbursement from state healthcare programs, designed to serve the vulnerable sections of the population.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta underscored the gravity of such schemes, stating, "When healthcare professionals exploit the Medi-Cal program, which is intended to help the state's most vulnerable populations, they betray the very principles of the Hippocratic Oath and undermine a program designed to support the elderly, the ill, and those in need," according to a statement from the California Department of Justice.
Adding to the couple's legal troubles, Rasekhi surrendered his medical license in December 2024 amidst separate accusations of sexual abuse of three patients, as detailed by KTLA. He and his wife have denied all fraud allegations. Rasekhi chose to retire from medicine rather than confront the accusations at a hearing.
