BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Federal authorities say a Louisiana psychiatrist has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme.

The Justice Department says Dr. Zahid Imran (zah-HIHD' im-rahn) was sentenced Monday for his role in the $258 million scheme. The department says the scheme included falsified patient treatment records reflecting services when no such services were provided.

Imran was a medical director for Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Baton Rouge, and co-owned Serenity Center of Baton Rouge and Shifa Community Mental Health Center of Texas.

Imran pleaded guilty on May 13 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, the result of an investigation that the Justice Department says has led to 17 convictions.

 

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