Teleradiologist found guilty of fraud
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Over the course of eight months between 2007 and 2008, Reddy was found to have signed 70,000 reports despite having viewed digital images only 5,900 times during that period, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Reddy ordered radiology practice assistants, at his Atlanta-based teleradiology group Reddy Solutions (RSI), to prepare and even sign many of the reports delivered to hospitals located in Georgia and Alabama.
Evidence presented at trial showed that for some reports with Reddy’s signature, he was traveling on airplanes without internet access and had provided his account information to non-physician technicians to complete the reports.
Reddy was indicted in 2009 with 37 counts of fraud and obstruction of justice, including charges that he ordered the destruction of evidence by RSI employees. After a six-day trial and one day of deliberation, the Georgia jury, on July 8, convicted Reddy of 20 counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, four counts of healthcare fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.
Reddy faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 for each of the 32 fraud and obstruction of justice convictions.
“This physician fraudulently cut corners at the expense of the hospitals he worked for and the patients who were being treated. He produced tens of thousands of reports claiming to include his medical findings and diagnoses based on radiology studies that had been performed, when in fact all those interpretations had been performed by non-qualified medical assistants,” said Sally Quillian Yates, JD, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
More than 12 hospitals were believed to have received fraudulent interpretations from RSI, including x-rays, CT scans, mammograms, ultrasounds and other modalities. Following the subpoena of computer records of Reddy’s activities, the jury concluded that Reddy had ordered RSI employees to destroy incriminating records and to fabricate new ones.
Reddy was also convicted of destroying computer equipment and asking employees to lie to investigators on his behalf.
“The healthcare fraud committed by Dr. Reddy is appalling because he risked the health of innocent, trusting patients and betrayed the medical community while stealing federal taxpayer dollars from the Medicare program,” said Derrick L. Jackson, a special agent in charge of the Atlanta region for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The trial was the culmination of a joint investigation by the FBI and HHS.