Cardiologist Sentenced to 35 Months for $1.9M Health Care Fraud

Dr. Fazal Panezai, 76, submitted false claims for non-existent and inflated patient visits, defrauding multiple insurance programs.

Dr. Fazal Panezai, a 76-year-old cardiologist from Morganville, New Jersey, was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for defrauding health insurance providers of over $1.9 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today. Panezai, the owner of Matawan-Aberdeen Heart & Medical Center, submitted claims for patient visits that either never occurred or were exaggerated in duration.

Court documents reveal that Panezai billed for extensive office visit times, including a claim of approximately 27.9 hours of patient care on a single day, May 27, 2022. Additionally, he charged over $80,000 for office visits during periods when he was out of the country. Panezai also submitted claims for patients who only visited the office to pick up prescriptions without seeing him in person. These fraudulent claims led to $1.9 million in reimbursement checks, which he kept for personal profit.

Judge Georgette Castner sentenced Panezai in Trenton federal court, ordering 35 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and a restitution payment of $1.95 million.