Pennsylvania Psychiatrist Acquitted of Healthcare Fraud Charges - United States v. Rifai
Health Care Fraud Acquittal of Pennsylvania Psychiatrist - Dr. Rifai
Chapman Consulting Group prides itself on helping healthcare practitioners and practices establish and maintain optimal healthcare compliance; but we also assist healthcare practices and practitioners who are facing healthcare fraud charges.
CCG Healthcare helps these clients through leveraging an expert team of investigators, healthcare compliance experts and medical professionals that work together and understand the complex world of healthcare regulation. This is accomplished with services such as litigation support, investigative support, expert testimony and more.
Case Background: United States vs. Dr. Rifai
We are proud to announce that we helped another healthcare professional become fully exonerated at trial by assisting his legal team, led by respected and talented defense attorney Mr. Paul Hetznecker. CCG is pleased to announce the full acquitted of all federal healthcare fraud charges brought against our mutual client, Dr. Rifai, in federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
On November 8th, 2022, Dr. Rifai was indicted in The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and charged with 4 counts Medicare Fraud. The indictment alleged that that Dr. Rifai took advantage of the Medicare system by charging nursing home patients for add-on services such as psychotherapy and Chronic Care Management that were alleged to have never been rendered to patients.
At face value, this indictment paints a horrible picture of healthcare fraud allegations against a talented psychiatrist who has never committed a crime in his life. This would cause some criminal attorneys who have never navigated the complicated legal issues regarding federal healthcare charges to encourage a plea deal for their client than face potentially harsh sentencing by a federal judge. Indictments such as these have caused some healthcare providers to just give up the fight and plead as charged for fear of not prevailing at trial.
Dr. Rifai was not one of those doctors. From the start, he maintained his innocence and decided to fight not only for his freedom and reputation but also for his patients. Dr. Rifai reached out to CCG for help and CCG answered the call.
CCG Healthcare's Comprehensive Investigation Approach
Members of CCG’s expert team, including senior compliance expert Michael Staples, CMBI, Investigator Marc Caudel, and Legal Nurse Reviewer Stefanie Marquis were assigned to assist and went straight to work.
CCG takes a comprehensive approach to cases like this to assess the entire situation and partner with a practitioner’s legal team to build the defense case.
This process can include, but is not limited to:
A complete assessment of the medical practice’s compliance to ensure alignment with standards of care and regulatory guidelines.
Interviews of current and previous employees
A detailed review of medical and billing records
Interviews of current and previous patients
Partnering with a provider’s legal team to provide expert guidance, assist with interviewing witnesses and preparing for testimony.
Through this process, the compliance and litigation support services offered by CCG’s healthcare compliance experts assisted in the full acquittal of Dr. Rifai on all charges.
We’d like to thank our senior healthcare compliance experts for providing litigation support services that assisted with the clearing of this provider’s name and reputation.
CCG is pleased to have assisted another healthcare practitioner to prove his innocence. Dr Rafai is a very talented psychiatrist who spent his professional career helping patients in rural areas where the need for quality psychiatric care is significant.
Expert Support for Healthcare Practitioners and Attorneys
If you are a healthcare practitioner facing allegations of healthcare fraud, or an Attorney that needs litigation support to prevail in a complicated federal healthcare matter, contact CCG Healthcare today. Our experts include former healthcare fraud investigators, state medical board investigators, legal nurse consultants, and former DEA investigators that have the experience and knowledge to help strengthen your case.
