New York doctor convicted in major medicaid fraud and kickback operation

A jury found Dr. Payam Toobian and his company, America’s Imaging Center, Inc., guilty of multiple felony charges related to a fraudulent kickback scheme and medical misconduct on Wednesday.

Dr. Toobian, from Kings Point, New York, was convicted of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Health Care Fraud in the Third Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and violating Social Services Law statutes prohibiting kickbacks.

The investigation by the Attorney General’s Office revealed that from January 2006 to August 2017, Dr. Toobian operated a kickback scheme where he paid two physicians in gift cards and cash in exchange for patient referrals. 

From January 2014 to August 2017, Toobian directed his employees to add extra, unordered radiological procedures to increase Medicaid payments. These included MRIs of the brain, cervical spine and lumbar spine, all requiring unnecessary and invasive injections, without the consent or knowledge of the referring physicians.

“All New Yorkers should be able to trust that their doctors are prioritizing their health, not simply using them to upcharge insurance companies,” said Attorney General James. “For years, Payam Toobian subjected patients to unnecessary and often invasive tests in order to enrich himself.”