Prime Healthcare CMO Accused of Embezzlement in Lawsuit Filed by Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani LLP

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22, 2014 Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani LLP (RPNA) has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against Paryus B. Patel, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare Hospitals and partner of Medical Associates of Westchester, for embezzlement and breach of fiduciary duty. The complaint, filed on behalf of Medical Associates of Westchester and partner Stewart A. Lonky, M.D., seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

The complaint alleges that Patel embezzled an amount currently unknown, but believed to be more than $1.2 million from the partnership over the past 9 years through fraudulent schemes involving the removal of checks from the partnership's mailbox and cashing these checks for his personal use, thus depriving the partnership of its rightful income.  The suit alleges that Patel arranged for the patient accounts to appear to have been paid in order to avoid detection.

"The complaint explains that Patel's scheme was simple and effective," says plaintiff attorney Joseph Gjonola of RPNA. "Patel used his position of trust within Medical Associates of Westchester to bleed it of well over a million dollars, while he watched the practice and his partner suffer financially as a result."

In addition to embezzlement, the complaint alleges Patel has conspired to commit fraud by reassigning the Medicare benefits paid for the professional services of Medical Associates of Westchester clinicians to a business Patel owns exclusively, namely the Centinela Hospitalist Medical Group. In doing so, he enlisted the aid of a Prime Healthcare employee who then, along with Patel, refused to provide copies of these fraudulent documents to Dr. Lonky or the individual employees affected.  In fact, Patel attempted to cover up this act by producing falsified documents to the employees.

"These allegations are particularly alarming considering that Patel was appointed Chief Medical Officer of all Prime Healthcare hospitals last year and maintains a position of power and influence over the medical treatment of tens of thousands of patients each year," Gjonola adds. Controversy is not new to Prime Healthcare which is currently being sued by Kaiser over a contractual dispute, and has been sued by a "whistleblower" at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego for fraudulent billing and coding practices, according to Gjonola.

Patel has been practicing medicine for 20 years and specializes in critical care medicine and pulmonary disease, as well as general internal medicine. Patel has until early January 2015 to respond to the complaint. A jury trial is expected to follow later next year.

About RPNA

Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani, LLP is a Los Angeles based law firm providing expert legal counsel and representation to the California business community. Established in 1995, the firm offers a broad range of legal services in all facets of civil litigation, with its primary focus on litigation, legislation and policymaking issues involving insurance and business related concerns. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, Woodland Hills and Sacramento.

Linda O'Hanlon, Straightline Communications
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SOURCE Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani, LLP