Indian-Origin Doctor Gets 14-Year Sentence In US For Massive Health Care Fraud

An Indian-origin doctor in the United States has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for orchestrating a large-scale health care fraud and drug distribution scheme, the US Department of Justice announced

on Tuesday.

Dr Neil K Anand, 48, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, was convicted in April 2025 on multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, unlawful distribution of controlled substances, money laundering, and related offences.

He was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison and ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution and more than $2 million in forfeiture.

According to the Department of Justice, Anand submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and private insurers like Independence Blue Cross and Anthem. These claims were for so-called “Goody Bags” — packages of medically unnecessary prescription drugs given to patients through in-house pharmacies owned by him.

The total loss to Medicare and the other insurers exceeded $2.4 million.

To convince patients to accept the unwanted medications, Anand also conspired to distribute oxycodone without medical justification. The Department said unlicensed medical interns, using blank prescriptions pre-signed by Anand, wrote prescriptions for controlled substances as part of the scheme.

Anand personally prescribed more than 20,000 oxycodone tablets to just nine patients. After learning that he was under investigation, he attempted to hide the proceeds by transferring approximately USD 1.2 million into an account under a relative’s name and for the benefit of a minor family member.

In addition to the conspiracy charges, Anand was convicted on three counts of health care fraud, one count of money laundering, four counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

(With inputs from PTI)