A doctor operating multiple urgent care facilities in the St. Louis area has been sentenced to prison for health care fraud.
Dr. Sonny Saggar, a 57-year-old individual, admitted his guilt in August by pleading guilty to a single count of conspiracy. As a consequence, he received a prison sentence of 35 months. Additionally, he was mandated to reimburse a sum of $742,528 for his fraudulent activities targeting Medicate and Missouri Medicaid.
Saggar, the ex-operator of St. Louis General Hospital, with branches in downtown St. Louis and near Creve Coeur, has been found guilty of fraudulent billing to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid. From July 2018 to July 2023, he deceitfully billed these healthcare programs and fabricated documentation to create the illusion of proper training for his assistant physicians (APs).
A press release from U.S. Attorney Sayler Fleming’s office states that Saggar has confessed to fraudulently billing Medicare and Missouri Medicaid by misrepresenting his role in patient consultations. Although the patients were actually being seen by medical school graduates known as APs, Saggar claimed the consultations as his own. These APs had not yet completed their residency practice.
According to the press release, in Missouri, it is mandatory for Advanced Practitioners (APs) to receive supervision while providing patient care. A physician is limited to supervising a maximum of six APs at a time. However, Saggar confessed to a deceptive practice of offering stipends amounting to $480 per month to physicians. In return, these physicians allowed him to use their names on paperwork to create the illusion of proper supervision.
Saggar also acknowledged that he had hired a doctor who was indicted in another case, but he failed to disclose to Medicaid that the doctor in question had been employed.
Renita Barringer, Saggar’s business partner, has also confessed to one count of conspiracy. Her sentencing is set for April 22.