A licensed pediatrician practicing in Jersey City was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for fraudulently billing Medicaid for more than 1,000 wound repair procedures that were never performed, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Badawy M. Badawy, 52, of Bayonne, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson to Count One of an indictment charging him with health care fraud. Judge Thompson imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
Badawy owned and operated Sinai Medical Center of Jersey City LLC, a medical practice focusing on pediatric and family medicine. From January 2004 through December 2008, Badawy submitted thousands of claims to Medicaid for wound repair procedures related to the repair of superficial wounds over 30 centimeters in length on a patient’s face, ears, eyelids, nose or lips as well as the repair of previously closed wounds. Badawy claimed to have performed these treatments on his patients, most of whom were children.
During his plea hearing Badawy admitted that he regularly submitted claims for procedures that were never performed. As a result of his false claims, Badawy received $196,911 in Medicaid payments.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Thompson sentenced Badawy to serve three years of supervised release and fined him $5,000. Badawy must also pay restitution of $196,911.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel in Newark and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.
The government is represented by Danielle Alfonzo Walsman and Michael H. Robertson of the U.S. Attorney’s Health Care and Government Fraud Unit.