Corona QME Charged with Fraud – Keeps License

Sacramento, CA - A Corona physician pleaded not guilty to charges of felony workers’ compensation insurance fraud and perjury, and can continue to practice medicine while his case proceeds. 

Dr. Sanjoy Banerjee, 42, entered the pleas Monday in Riverside County Superior Court. Banerjee is free on bond. His next court date is Aug. 16.

Along with the arraignment, a judge turned down a request from the California Medical Board to keep Banerjee from practicing medicine until his case is resolved.  

"His alleged conduct is not only unprofessional, but also dangerous, and evinces poor character, a lack of integrity, and and inability or unwillingness to follow the law," the state’s recommendation to suspend Banerjee’s practice said. 

The physician’s attorney countered that the state Medical Board had "failed to meet (the) basic threshold of showing a logical connection " between the allegations of insurance fraud and perjury and Dr. Banerjee’s fitness or competence to practice medicine."

The Riverside District Attorney’s Office has charged the QME  May 29, 2018, with two counts of workers' compensation insurance fraud and five counts of perjury.

Banerjee claims on his website that he is the Founder and Medical Director of Pacific Pain Care. 

An investigation conducted by the DA’s Bureau of Investigation found that from November 2014 through December 2016, Banerjee, a Wildomar- and Corona-based workers’ compensation pain management doctor, allegedly illegally self-referred workers’ compensation patients to a clinical laboratory and an office-based surgical center he owned. 

Through that laboratory and surgical center, Dr. Banerjee allegedly billed more than $180,000 for urine toxicology testing and/or epidural injections. 

Dr. Banerjee also reportedly signed at least five doctor’s reports declaring under penalty of perjury he had not referred patients to his own companies. The investigation revealed that Dr. Banerjee referred some of his workers’ compensation patients to his business, Rochester Imperial Surgical Center, which was located in a patient exam room inside the Pacific Pain Care office suite in Wildomar. 

The case, RIF1802535 is being prosecuted by Deputy DA Kristen Allison of the DA’s Insurance Fraud Team. Read More...

Source: WorkCompAcademy.com

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