An Atlantic County, N.J., surgeon, his office manager and the business where they worked were indicted on charges of defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies of more than $8.5 million.

Dr. Khashayar Salartash, 42, of Linwood, N.J.; his office manager Farah Iranipour Houtan, 51, of Egg Harbor, N.J.; and the treatment center owned by Salartash, The Center for Lymphatic Disorders, were all named in a grand jury indictment handed down July 13, according to Acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Riza Dagli.

The indictment includes charges of second-degree conspiracy, three counts of health care claims fraud and a pair of third-degree Medicaid fraud charges.

Salartash and Houtan were also charged with second-degree misconduct by a corporate official.

Between August 2002 and June 2007, Salartash and Houtan allegedly billed for services not provided as claimed, according to New Jersey Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccioni. As a result of alleged fraudulent billing, the Center for Lymphatic Disorders was paid about $8,564,622, including $593,363 by Medicaid, $4,703,935 by Medicare, and $3,267,324 by private carriers.

The defendants allegedly submitted claims as though Salartash had either personally provided services or directly supervised licensed personnel who rendered services, officials said. Services were actually performed by a physical therapist, a licensed practical nurse or a massage therapist, with no supervision.

Salartash and Houtan also allegedly billed for surgery when only physical therapy services were rendered, according to officials. Salartash allegedly represented in some claims that services were performed in an outpatient hospital facility, when they were actually performed in a doctor’s office.

In order to support the claims, Salartash certified that the services provided were “medically necessary,” officials said, even though the services were provided for a time period far in excess of what is normal and customary for lympedema therapy.

The Center for Lymphatic Disorders, opened by Salartash in 2002, treated patients with lympedema, a blockage of the lymph vessels causing accumulation of fluid and swelling in the arms or legs and other parts of the body. It closed in 2006, but opened four additional offices during its operations, officials said.

Anne Milgram

The state alleges that Salartash and Houtan used inappropriate modifiers to billing codes to bill for multiple procedures within a short period of time and made written and verbal misrepresentations to private carriers, Medicaid and Medicare.

“We charge that these defendants collected $8.5 million through false billing, including nearly $5 million from Medicare and half a million dollars from Medicaid,” said Attorney General Milgram in a statement. “It’s outrageous that a doctor would fraudulently take millions of dollars from programs that pay for medical care for the elderly and those who can’t afford health insurance. In addition, by defrauding private insurers, he contributed to the high cost of health insurance.”