A federal grand jury charged 46 year old Sohail Mamdani D.O., who lives in Los Banos, for mail fraud and money laundering in connection with a disability insurance fraud scheme, and unlawful use of a DEA registration number and fraudulently obtaining possession of a controlled substance,
US News reports that Sohail H. Mamdani is a general surgeon in Hanford, California and is affiliated with Memorial Hospital Los Banos. He received his medical degree from Nova Southeastern University – College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Osteopathic Medical Board of California reports that his Osteopathic Physician and Surgeon license is still active.
According to court documents, between February 2020 and March 2022, Dr. Mamdani submitted over 6,000 initial claims to EDD for disability insurance payments despite having never seen or treated the majority of the claimants.
As part of the fraud, Mamdani would charge the purported patient a fee for both the initial disability claim and any supplemental claims. In addition, in order to avoid federal reporting requirements, Mamdani structured financial transactions. The investigation reveals potential intended losses to EDD of up to $99 million dollars with potential actual losses of over $53 million.
Mamdani is separately charged with unlawfully using another doctor’s DEA registration number for the purpose of unlawfully obtaining controlled substances. Additionally, Mamdani wrote a number of fraudulent prescriptions in the names of other individuals in order to obtain controlled substances himself.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the California Employment Development Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexandre Dempsey and Michael Tierney are prosecuting the case.
If convicted of mail fraud, Mamdani faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or up to twice the gross gain or gross loss caused by the fraud.
He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to twice the value of property involved in the transactions or up to $500,000 if convicted of the money laundering charges.
He also faces a maximum statutory penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the drug related charges.