A St. Louis area doctor, Dr. Sonny Saggar, has been handed a 35-month prison sentence for his role in a health care fraud scheme that targeted Medicare and Missouri Medicaid. According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Saggar will also face three years of supervised release following his incarceration and has been ordered to repay $742,528.
Saggar, 57, ran two urgent care centers in the region, where he engaged in an elaborate scheme to defraud medical assistance programs by hiring assistant physicians (APs)—medical graduates without completed residencies—and fraudulently billing for services as if he personally provided them. This conspiracy, which unfolded from July 2018 to July 2023, involved not only inadequate supervision and training for these APs but also the establishment of false collaborative practice arrangements to suggest legal oversight was in in place. Saggar's actions were further compounded when he hired a doctor previously indicted in another case to act as the sole collaborating physician at one of his locations despite the doctor’s suspended Medicaid billing privileges.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that Saggar's urgent care facilities were advertised to APs as a "residency prep" program and "stepping stone," promises that ultimately resulted in providing substandard care to patients who believed they were receiving treatment from sufficiently supervised and legally practicing medical professionals. As stated in the U.S. Attorney's Office release, Saggar admitted to hiring numerous APs, instructing them to consult with each other for medical questions, and offering stipends to physicians to falsely represent appropriate supervision.
The weight of these offenses was underscored by Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, who confirmed the sentencing on the U.S. Attorney's Office "underscores our commitment to ensuring that providers are held accountable for submitting fraudulent claims for financial gain and for deliberately concealing critical information about healthcare professionals." Moreover, FBI Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson emphasized the severity of the crime as it "risked the well-being of patients with urgent medical needs," noting that Saggar billed the services as his own to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Dr. Saggar's office manager, Renita Barringer, 51, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and is awaiting sentencing scheduled for April 22. The investigation into Saggar's fraudulent activities was a joint effort among the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit with Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric overseeing the prosecution.
