COEBURN, Va. (AP) - A 78-year-old physician who pleaded guilty to health care fraud and drug charges will pay nearly $1 million in restitution and forfeiture, in addition to other penalties.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia announced Monday that Gurcharan Singh Kanwal was sentenced last week to two years' probation and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, $945,000 in restitution and forfeiture and surrender his medical license, for which he can never reapply.
The Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force started investigating Kanwal following complaints that employees and patients at Coeburn Medical Clinic were diverting controlled substances. An undercover agent obtained prescriptions for Ritalin and hydrocodone without a legitimate medical purpose, and investigators found Kanwal fraudulently billed Virginia Medicaid $472,500 for services that were unnecessary or not provided.
