A federal judge in Grand Rapids has sentenced a suburban Detroit doctor to 13 months in prison for submitting $1 million in fraudulent medical test claims to Medicare, Medicaid and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Judge Robert Holmes Bell gave the sentence to 61-year-old Chyawan Bansil of Farmington Hills. Bell says Bansil violated the trust of patients and "worsened the health care crisis" in this country.
Mlive.com says Bansil has already paid $3 million in restitution under a triple-damages provision of the False Claims Act.
Defense lawyer Jennifer Belveal says her client stole the money to provide financial security and not to support a lavish lifestyle.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Beckering says Bansil is cooperating with the government in other cases.
