Doc indicted over radiology kickback scheme
A doctor in New York is in hot water after bribing physicians for patient referrals and later subjecting many of those patients to unnecessary and invasive imaging procedures.
Payam Toobian, MD, is alleged to have paid kickbacks in the form of gift cards, checks and cash to physicians in exchange for referrals to his Queens imaging center—Empire Imaging—from January 2006 to August 2017. Some of the patients referred to the imaging center underwent contrast-enhanced imaging exams that were unnecessary to their care, for which Toobian would submit false claims to Medicaid.
The kickbacks totaled more than $547,000 and resulted in Empire Imaging receiving more than $1 million in paid Medicaid claims from the patient referrals. In addition to the kickbacks, Toobian is alleged to have also directed his employees to bill for radiologic procedures not ordered by the referring physicians in an attempt to increase reimbursement amounts paid out to Empire Imaging.
On August 1, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the doctor’s indictment.
“New Yorkers should be able to trust that their doctors are working to heal them, not profit off of their suffering,” James said in a statement. “Bribery and kickback schemes corrupt our healthcare system and make it impossible for patients to receive the care that they need. The idea that a licensed physician would subject patients to unnecessary testing to line their pockets is unconscionable, and my office will continue to go after medical providers that jeopardize the health and safety of New Yorkers.”
Toobian is charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Health Care Fraud in the Third Degree, eight counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and three counts of violating the Social Services Law statute, which prohibits kickbacks related to the provision of services under the state’s Medicaid program.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.