An Atlanta urology group and its owner have agreed to pay $14 million to the government after years of scrutiny over how the clinic billed public health programs. On Thursday, April 2, 2026, Advanced Urology, Inc., and its owner, Dr. Jitesh Patel, settled federal and state lawsuits that accused the practice of charging Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for medically unnecessary procedures or services that were never actually performed. The deal wraps up two whistleblower cases and caps a multiagency investigation into the group’s billing and testing practices.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Advanced Urology and Patel agreed to the $14 million payment to resolve allegations that they violated the federal False Claims Act and the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act. Prosecutors said the practice submitted false claims for various urological and diagnostic procedures. The settlement resolves two qui tam lawsuits that whistleblowers first filed in 2018 and 2019 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
"Physicians commit fraud when they seek payment for medically unnecessary procedures or bill for services they never performed," U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in the release. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia credited a team effort by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the Georgia Medicaid Fraud and Patient Protection Division, the FBI, the VA Office of Inspector General and the Defense Health Agency for uncovering the conduct described in the settlement paperwork.
What Whistleblowers Alleged
The case started with two insiders who said the clinic’s priorities got upside down. A former employee and a former physician told investigators that Advanced Urology put revenue ahead of patient need by implanting permanent sacral nerve stimulators without first confirming that patients would benefit. They also alleged the practice performed cystoscopies and retrograde pyelograms under anesthesia in situations where those procedures were not medically necessary.
According to the whistleblowers, the clinic ran electromyography tests on nearly every new patient, ordered thousands of duplex and retroperitoneal ultrasounds and billed insurers for a more expensive Direct Visual Internal Urethrotomy while performing only a dilation. Under the settlement, the two relators will receive a combined $2,940,000, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
What The Law Allows
The False Claims Act is the federal government’s go-to civil weapon in health care fraud cases. It allows the government to seek treble damages, plus civil penalties, when someone submits fraudulent bills to federal programs. It also lets private whistleblowers, known as relators, file qui tam suits in the government’s name and share in any recovery. See 31 U.S.C. § 3729, as summarized by the Legal Information Institute, and the qui tam provision at 31 U.S.C. § 3730, outlined by the Legal Information Institute.
Georgia’s False Medicaid Claims Act gives the state similar tools on the Medicaid side, including treble damages and civil penalties when providers submit false claims to the state’s Medicaid program, according to Justia on O.C.G.A. § 49-4-168.1.
Where This Fits In Atlanta Enforcement
Federal and state officials say this is not a one-off. The Advanced Urology settlement is part of a broader push to clamp down on improper billing that drains Medicare, Medicaid and other taxpayer-funded health programs in metro Atlanta and beyond. Earlier this year, the Justice Department announced a $4.75 million settlement with Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates over alleged kickbacks and unnecessary testing, a case that signaled heightened enforcement attention in the region, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Local outlets also covered the Advanced Urology agreement, including WSB Radio, reflecting strong public interest in how government health dollars are spent in Georgia’s largest metro area.
Officials emphasized that the claims resolved by the settlement are still just that, allegations, and there has been no judicial determination of liability. The investigation and resolution were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam D. Nugent and Andres Sandoval and Georgia Assistant Attorney General James Champlin, according to the government. For readers who want to see everything in black and white, the U.S. Attorney's Office has posted the full press release and case details online.
