Worcester psychiatrist indicted on illegal prescription, Medicare defrauding charges
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U.S. District Court in Worcester
Mohamad Och, a Worcester psychiatrist, was arrested Monday and charged with illegally prescribing controlled substances to patients and submitting false reimbursement claims to Medicare programs, the U.S. Attorney’s office for Massachusetts announced on Tuesday.
Och, who owned and operated Island Counseling Center, was indicted on eight counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of health care fraud. He was released with conditions after appearing in federal court on Monday in Worcester.
Och is accused of repeatedly prescribing, between August 2016 and March 2017, a combination of benzodiazepines and stimulants, including Adderall, Xanax and Klonopin to patients outside the usual course of professional practice, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He is accused of submitting or causing to be submitted false and fraudulent claims related to office visits in order to obtain larger reimbursements than he was technically entitled to receive, based on services provided. These allegedly took place between January 2016 and July 2017.
Illegally prescribing Adderall, a Schedule II drug, can carry up to 20 years in prison; illegally prescribing Xanax or Klonopin, Schedule IV drugs, can carry up to five years in prison. Healthcare fraud conspiracy can carry up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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