Oklahoma psychiatrist Amar Bhandary guilty of Medicaid fraud; indicted in five patient deaths

June 4, 2013

Amar Nath Bhandary, M.D., 53, of Oklahoma City, has pled guilty to committing health care fraud, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Bhandary was licensed to practice medicine in Oklahoma and was engaged in the practice of psychiatry. The indictment alleges that  Bhandary dispensed various controlled drugs to eight separate individuals outside the course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose in 2008 and 2009. It is further alleged that Bhandary’s actions resulted in the death of five of those individuals from drug toxicity.

According to the superseding information, Bhandary submitted claims to Medicaid claiming reimbursement for services that he had not actually provided. Specifically, he filed claims for comprehensive psychiatric examinations between 45-50 minutes in duration when he visited with patients for only 10-20 minutes. Dr. Bhandary pled guilty earlier today to the superseding information.

At sentencing, Bhandary faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine. Sentencing will take place in approximately ninety days.

These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randal A. Sengel and David P. Petermann.

Source: "Oklahoma City Doctor Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Medicaid," press release of U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, May 28, 2013 and "Oklahoma City Psychiatrist Charged with Illegal Distribution of Controlled Prescription Drugs Resulting in the Death of Five Individuals," press release of U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, March 21, 2012.