OMIG Assists in Investigation that Leads to Indictment of Long Island Physician in Alleged $1 Million Medicaid Kickback Scheme

A Long Island physician was indicted yesterday following an OMIG-assisted investigation for allegedly defrauding the Medicaid program of more than $1 million by bribing other physicians for referrals and subjecting patients to unnecessary and invasive medical tests.

Payam Toobian, 51, of Kings Point, N.Y. was indicted along with his company, America’s Imaging Center, Inc. (America’s Imaging), and charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, Health Care Fraud in the Third Degree, eight counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, and three counts of violating the Social Services Law statute prohibiting the payment of kickbacks related to the provision of services under the state’s Medicaid program, all felony charges. 

As alleged by state prosecutors, Toobian gave gift cards, cash and checks worth more than $547,000 to three physicians from January 2006 to August 2017 for patient referrals to his diagnostic radiology center, Empire Imaging, located in Forest Hills, Queens, N.Y. Toobian then allegedly directed his employees to add additional, unordered radiological procedures to orders submitted by referring physicians from 2014 to August 2017 to increase the amount of money Empire Imaging would receive from Medicaid; procedures that included MRIs of the brain, cervical spine and lumbar spine, all “with contrast,” which subjected patients to unnecessary and invasive injections.

As a result of the OMIG-assisted investigation, the state Attorney General also filed a separate civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, seeking damages from Toobian and America’s Imaging, among other defendants, for violating the Federal and New York State False Claims Act and for other civil causes of action. 

The charges and allegations contained in an indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 

View more about these charges as well as OMIG's assistance.

New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General

Our mission is to enhance the integrity of the New York State Medicaid program by preventing and detecting fraudulent, abusive, and wasteful practices within the Medicaid program and recovering improperly expended Medicaid funds while promoting high-quality patient care.

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