New Jersey Doctor Receives Prison Sentence for Defrauding Amtrak's Health Care Plan

A Cedar Grove doctor has been sentenced for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that caused over $1.3 million in losses to Amtrak's health care system.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Dr. Muhammad Mirza, a 51-year-old physician from Cedar Grove, New Jersey, has been sentenced to 26 months in prison after pleading guilty to health care fraud. The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court, where Mirza was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Court documents and statements reveal that from April 2017 to June 2022, Dr. Mirza and his accomplices engaged in a fraudulent scheme targeting Amtrak’s health care plan. They billed for services that were either unprovided or medically unnecessary, leveraging patient and insurance information of Amtrak employees who were illicitly recruited into the scheme.

The fraudulent activities led by Mirza resulted in over $1.3 million in losses to Amtrak. As part of his sentence, Judge Arleo has also mandated a two-year supervised release and ordered Mirza to pay restitution amounting to $1.37 million.

The investigation that culminated in today’s sentencing was conducted by the Amtrak Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Amtrak Police Department. U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger commended the efforts of these agencies, particularly noting the role of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano, in bringing the case to a successful resolution.