Criminal Investigative Updates

Dr. Donald Salzberg, of Avon, Connecticut, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release for receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans. Salzberg was also ordered to pay $1.34 million in restitution to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. In July 2022, Salzberg pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to receive kickbacks. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of over $3 million to Medicare and other insurance programs and companies. The VA OIG, the FBI, the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, the US Postal Inspection Service, and the Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration investigated this case.   

Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, of East Setauket, New York, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. It is alleged that from 2013 through 2019, Fishberger conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, and a salesperson for the company, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary TCD scans in exchange for kickbacks. It is further alleged that Fishberger and his co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies. In exchange, Fishberger was paid cash kickbacks of approximately $100 per test. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $650,000 to the VA. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, HHS OIG, FBI, IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Postal Inspection Service.

Dr. Vishnudat Seodat, of Mattituck, New York, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. It is alleged that he conspired with others to order hundreds of medically unnecessary transcranial scans in exchange for kickbacks. Seodat and his co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, including private insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $1 million to Medicare and private insurance companies. The VA OIG, the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, the FBI, the IRS' Criminal Investigation's Boston Field Office, the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the US Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.     

Timothy Doyle, of Selden, New York, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute. It is alleged he conspired to offer and pay kickbacks to doctors in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans. Doyle allegedly conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial Doppler scans, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors. Doyle and his co-conspirators allegedly created purported rental and administrative service agreements, making it appear that doctors were compensated for the company’s use of space and administrative resources of the ordering doctor’s practice based on fair market value. According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare. The VA OIG, the US Department of Health and Human Services OIG, the FBI Boston Division, the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division Boston Field Office, the US Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the US Postal Inspection Service Boston Division investigated this case.                

Dr. Vishnudat Seodat, of Mattituck, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. From approximately June 2013 through June 2019, Seodat conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler scans, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary scans in exchange for kickbacks. He used false diagnoses to order the scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Seodat was paid kickbacks of approximately $100 per test. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $1 million to Medicare and private insurance companies. Sentencing is scheduled for March 11, 2025. The VA OIG, Health and Human Services OIG, FBI, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and US Postal Service investigated the case. 

Timothy Doyle, of Selden, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute. For more than seven years, Doyle conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company, to enter kickback agreements with various doctors to order medically unnecessary brain scans. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare. The VA OIG, the US Department of Health and Human Services OIG, the FBI, the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, the US Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and the USPS Inspection Service investigated this case.

David Fuhrmann, of Port Jefferson, New York, was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Fuhrmann allegedly conspired with others from June 2013 through at least September 2020, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors. According to charging documents, Fuhrmann and his co-conspirators agreed to offer and pay doctors kickbacks based on the number of TCD ultrasounds the doctors ordered. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare. The VA OIG, HHS OIG, FBI, IRS’ Criminal Investigation Unit, Department of Labor Employee Benefit Security Administration, and US Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.

David Fuhrmann, of Port Jefferson, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. From 2013 to 2020, Fuhrmann conspired with others to enter into agreements with physicians to perform medically unnecessary transcranial doppler scans in exchange for bribes. The potential loss to VA is approximately $650,000. This investigation was conducted by the VA OIG, FBI, HHS OIG, US Postal Inspection Service, Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Sentencing is scheduled for July 10, 2025.

Dr. Kingsley R. Chin, CEO of SpineFrontier, Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical device company, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Open Payments Program. Pursuant to the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, device manufacturers, like SpineFrontier, are required to report any payments or transfers of value to physicians, including spine surgeons. According to the charging documents, SpineFrontier offered surgeons the opportunity to engage in purported consulting on product development. Specifically, Chin directed his employees to report the payment of fees paid to a surgeon as consulting fees that were not compensation for actual consulting work. The VA OIG, Health & Human Services OIG, FBI’s Boston Division, and US Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division investigated this case.

James Rausch, a New York-based director for a mobile medical diagnostics company, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute and has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to provide kickbacks to doctors in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans. According to the charging documents, from approximately March 2015 through September 2020, Rausch and his co-conspirators agreed to pay doctors kickbacks based on the number of transcranial doppler (TCD) scans the doctors ordered. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain. It is alleged that the scheme as a whole resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare. Medicare paid approximately $27.2 million to the TCD company for the fraudulent claims. The VA OIG, Health and Human Services OIG, FBI, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation, Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.

James Rausch, a New York-based director for a mobile medical diagnostics company, pleaded guilty to conspiring to offer and pay kickbacks to doctors in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans. From approximately March 2015 through September 2020, Rausch conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain. Rausch and his co-conspirators agreed to offer and pay doctors kickbacks based on the number of TCD ultrasounds the doctors ordered. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare. Medicare paid approximately $27.2 million to the TCD company for the fraudulent claims. The VA OIG, Health and Human Services OIG, FBI, Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.

Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, of East Setauket, New York, was sentenced to serve two years of supervised release, including one year of home confinement, for receiving kickbacks. Fishberger was a licensed medical doctor for more than 45 years. From approximately June 2013 through December 2019, he conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary tests in exchange for kickbacks. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in specific brain regions. Fishberger and his alleged co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order unnecessary TCD scans, then a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company, for payment. In exchange, Fishberger was paid cash kickbacks. The scheme resulted in about $891,978 in fraudulent bills to government and private insurance companies. The VA OIG investigated this case with the Health and Human Services OIG, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Labor, and US Postal Inspection Service.

Dr. Vishnudat Seodat, of Mattituck, New York, was sentenced to serve two years of supervised release, including one year of home confinement, for receiving kickbacks. Seodat was a licensed medical doctor for about 36 years. From approximately June 2013 through December 2019, he conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary tests in exchange for kickbacks. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in specific brain regions. Seodat and his alleged co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order unnecessary TCD scans, then a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company, for payment. In exchange, Seodat was paid cash kickbacks. The scheme resulted in about $1 million in fraudulent bills to government and private insurance companies. The VA OIG investigated this case with the Health and Human Services OIG, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Department of Labor, and US Postal Inspection Service.

David Fuhrmann, of Point Jefferson Station, New York, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $27 million in restitution for conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute. From 2013 to 2020, Fuhrmann conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors to perform unnecessary brain scans. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of more than $70 million. The case was investigated by the VA OIG; HHS OIG; FBI; Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and US Postal Inspection Service.

Dr. Alan Mitchell, a Florida ophthalmologist and former owner of the Mitchell Eye Center, have agreed to pay $415,000 to resolve allegations that they caused the submission of false claims in violation of the False Claims Act. Allegedly, from September 2018 through March 2020, Mitchell Eye Center and Dr. Mitchell submitted false claims to Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration for tests that weren’t medically necessary and were paid for referrals. The VA OIG and the Health and Human Services OIG investigated this case.

Sven Knudsen Ljaamo, a physician employed at the Bedford VA Medical Center in Massachusetts, was arrested and charged with receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. Allegedly, law enforcement received a CyberTip reporting that more than 100 suspected files of child pornography material had been uploaded to his Google account. When Ljaamo spoke to investigators, he allegedly admitted to viewing, downloading, and saving pornographic material involving female minors. It is further alleged that tens of thousands of pornography files were found during a review of Ljaamo’s devices, including on a cell phone he kept in his office at the VA medical center. The VA OIG and FBI, with assistance by the Billerica, Lowell and Salem Police Departments, investigated this case.

Sven Knudsen Ljaamo, a physician employed at the Bedford VA Medical Center in Massachusetts has been indicted for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. The defendant was previously arrested on April 23, 2025, and was subsequently released on conditions following a detention hearing. Law enforcement received a CyberTip reporting that more than 100 files containing suspected child sexual abuse material had been uploaded to Ljaamo’s Google account. When Ljaamo spoke to investigators, he allegedly admitted to viewing, downloading, and saving pornographic material involving female minors. The VA OIG and the FBI investigated this case, which is part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative.