Ashok Kumar Babaria, MD, a radiologist who owned and served as medical director of Orange Community MRI in northern New Jersey, has been sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to return more than $2 million for his part in an illegal kickback scheme.
Prosecutors said Babaria paid cash kickbacks for referrals of Medicare and Medicaid patients, and had subordinates do the same, according to an Associated Press report. He pleaded guilty to violating a federal anti-kickback statute in September 2012.
Babaria also faces three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.