An Indian doctor has scammed Medicaid out of $700,000 by prescribing HIV medications for people who didn't have the virus

Dr. Suresh Hemrajani pleaded not guilty to grand larceny, health care fraud and other charges. According to a Manhattan judge's summary of the allegations, middlemen recruited patients on the street and brought them to Hemrajani's office, sometimes 10 at a time. The 57-year-old doctor prescribed medications for the virus that causes AIDS without examining the patients or determining whether they had it; at least some later were found not to have the virus. Hemrajani billed Medicaid for treatment, including follow-up visits that didn't happen, and the patients used the government health program to buy the drugs, according to the judge's recap. Then the patients traded the medications for cash from the middlemen, who sold the medicine illegally. The scam came to light when some of the patients tried to get a prescription for the drugs from a hospital, which tested them and found they were HIV-negative. More than 150 patients were involved in the scam. Thirty have been criminally charged, and 17 have been sentenced so far, some to lengthy prison terms, state Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman said, according to a transcript of Hemrajani's arraignment. Berkman has handled some of the patients' cases. Originally from India, Hemrajani has lived in the United States since 1984 and has been in his practice since 1991. State medical records show that Hemrajani has been licensed here since 1986. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.