Former Brookline sleep doctor Pankaj Merchia is headed to federal prison after a jury found him guilty on multiple fraud and tax charges tied to his once high-flying medical practice. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sentenced Merchia to 4 years and 10 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay nearly $1.85 million in restitution. Court records show he must report to the Bureau of Prisons by 2 p.m. on July 17. Merchia, who also owns a home in South Florida, was convicted of health care fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.
How Prosecutors Say The Scheme Worked
Federal prosecutors say Merchia ran two related schemes that quietly funneled millions from health insurers by billing for medical gear that patients were no longer using. From 2017 through 2019, he allegedly kept submitting monthly rental claims for CPAP and BiPAP machines tied to former patients, including some he had not treated since 2011. Prosecutors say he also billed a family member’s insurer for roughly $400,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, when an insurer finally balked and declined those claims, Merchia set up a nominee practice to refile them under a different name and keep the payments coming. Investigators say he then used the proceeds to buy a $2.1 million home in Brookline, purchase securities and send large wire transfers.
Sentence, Restitution And Reporting Date
Judge Gorton imposed the 4 year, 10 month sentence at a hearing this week, ordered restitution of $1,847,931 and added three years of supervised release once Merchia completes his prison term. Court filings detail the requirement that he report to the Bureau of Prisons by 2 p.m. on July 17.
The punishment follows a 10 day federal trial in January that ended with guilty verdicts on seven counts. As reported by The Boston Globe, prosecutors argued the length of the sentence reflects what they described in court as the scope of the thefts from insurers and the tax system.
Tax Scheme, Sham Sale And Investigators
On top of the insurance claims, prosecutors say Merchia hid more than $6.5 million in income from the IRS between 2009 and 2019. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he falsely claimed that his medical businesses were owned by a co-conspirator and orchestrated a sham sale to justify large amortization deductions.
Those filings and alleged false statements formed the backbone of the federal tax case. Authorities say the investigation drew on work by IRS Criminal Investigation and the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts, which traced the money flows that underpinned both the insurance and tax charges.
Credentials, Licensing Fallout And Local Ripples
Court documents and prosecutors note that Merchia graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1998 and completed a sleep-medicine fellowship from 2005 to 2007, credentials that once helped anchor his reputation in Brookline and beyond. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine shows he has not been licensed in Massachusetts since 2021, while Florida licensing records list an active Florida medical license, according to the Florida Department of Health and prior reporting in the Boston Globe.
Local insurers and state investigators are still tallying the damage from the schemes described at trial, reviewing losses and leaving the door open to possible civil actions or administrative follow ups that could extend the fallout from Merchia’s convictions well beyond his prison term.
