Canton Pharmacist's License Suspended After Sentenced to Federal Prison

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has immediately suspended the license of Canton pharmacist, Babubhai "Bob" Patel, after he was convicted of multiple counts of health care fraud conspiracy.

Patel, 50, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison back in February after being found guilty of multiple counts of Health Care Fraud Conspiracy, Health Care Fraud Aiding and Abetting, Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances and Distribution of Controlled Substances, Aiding and Abetting, all felonies.  

In addition to the prison sentence, Patel also was ordered to pay $17.3 in restitution to the federal Medicaid and Medicare programs and an additional $1.5 million in restitution to Blue Cross Blue Shield.

On June 4, 2013, LARA issued an order summarily suspending Patel’s license pursuant to the Public Health Code which provides for the mandatory summary suspension of a health professional’s license upon the conviction of a felony, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for a maximum term of two years, or a controlled substance-related conviction.

Patel owned and operated 26 pharmacies in the metro Detroit area. Evidence presented at his trial showed that between 2006 and 2011, his pharmacies billed Medicare and Medicaid for more than $57 million.

The pharmacies operated on a business model that paid kickbacks to physicians in exchange for writing prescriptions for expensive medications. The affiliated doctors also would write prescriptions for controlled substances, without regard to medical necessity, which would be filled at the pharmacies and distributed to paid "patients" and patient recruiters. The expensive non-controlled medications would be billed but not dispensed.

Patel is one of 26 people indicted in this scheme. Of those, 20 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. The remaining six are scheduled for trial this month. 

Of 12 pharmacists charged, 11 have been convicted at trial or pleaded guilty, with one waiting to be tried. Of four doctors charged, two have pleaded guilty, with two waiting to be tried.