30 years of CORRUPTION , LIES, CHEATING AND STEALING is Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka Mad Dog Millionaire’s LEGACY . He was involved in Corruption when he was the Assistant Medical Director at the Massachusetts Dept. of Correction , Martha Eliot Health Ctr , Roxbury Comprehensive Health Ctr. and his own Medical Practice , Preventive Medicine Associates.formerly Addiction Medicine Associates. He used two entities he created on paper that never existed called the National library of Addictions and the American College of Addiction Medicine to advocate his emergence in the field of addiction medicine. This unscrupulous MD used and exploited his patients and employees for financial wealth. The only thing that MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE aka Punyamurtula Kishore cared about was making money at the expense of Human misery
Brookline- MAD DOG Pleads Guilty, Sentenced to Jail and Ordered to Pay $9.3 Million for Running Medicaid Kickback and False Billing Scheme
Dr. MAD DOG Kishore to Surrender Medical License, Sentenced to House of Correction
BOSTON – MAD DOG has pleaded guilty, was sentenced to jail, and has been ordered to pay $9.3 million in restitution for running an intricate Medicaid fraud scheme involving millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
MAD DOG, 64, along with his company Preventive Medicine Associates, Inc. (PMA), pleaded guilty on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court. PMA pleaded guilty to charges of Medicaid Kickbacks (8 counts), Medicaid False Claims (19 counts) and Larceny over $250 (11 counts). MAD DOG pleaded guilty to one count of Larceny over $250.
“MAD DOG orchestrated a complex kickback scheme to funnel a lucrative drug screening business to his laboratories and then billed taxpayers millions of dollars for those services,” AG Healey said. “This case exhibited blatant theft of state funds that were supposed to go toward care for some of our most vulnerable residents. This is fraud that undermines the integrity of our health care system.”
Today, Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced MAD DOG to 360 days in the House of Correction, with 11 months to serve and the balance suspended for 10 years. As a condition to his sentence, Kishore has also agreed to surrender his medical license. Judge Sanders also ordered Kishore and PMA to pay, jointly and severally, a total of $9.3 million in restitution.
Dr. Kishore previously owned and managed PMA, a network of 29 medical branches throughout Massachusetts, including physician office laboratories and one independent clinical laboratory. Based on the AG’s investigation, MAD DOG used bribes, or kickbacks, to induce sober house owners to send their residents’ urine drug screening business to his laboratories for testing. Residents were typically screened three times per week.
A urine drug screen may be billed to MassHealth by a physician if the screen is medically necessary. Drug screens generally are billed to the MassHealth program for approximately $100 to $200. Dr. Kishore manipulated his business relationships with sober house owners to illegally obtain tens of thousands of drug screens paid for by MassHealth for sober house residents who were never treated by PMA providers.
In September 2011, Dr. MAD DOG and PMA were indicted, and individually charged with Medicaid Kickbacks (8 counts), and Medicaid False Claims (8 counts). In November 2013, Dr. Kishore and PMA were indicted on additional charges of Medicaid False Claims (11 counts) and Larceny over $250 (11 counts) for billing MassHealth for millions of dollars in drug screens using the names of PMA physicians and nurse practitioners who were not actually treating the patients or determining the drug screens to be medically necessary. State regulations require that the services must be medically necessary and the provider must be physically present and actively involved in the treatment of the member.
Two other individuals previously pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid Kickbacks in connection with their involvement in Dr. Kishore’s scheme to defraud MassHealth. In June 2012, Damion Smith, 42, of New Jersey, president of Fresh Start Recovery Coalition, was sentenced to two years in the House of Correction suspended for two years with probation. Carl Smith, 69, of Dorchester, manager of New Horizon House, pleaded guilty in January 2015 and was sentenced to two years in the House of Correction suspended for two years with probation.
The case against Thomas Leonard of Malden, the part owner and manager of the Marshall House, a sober house located in Malden, is ongoing. John Coughlin of Carver, president of Gianna’s House Inc., which operates several sober houses located in Wareham, New Bedford, and Sandwich, began his trial today in Suffolk Superior Court.
This case, first referred to the AG's Office by MassHealth, was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Angela Neal, David Scheffler, and Lee Hettinger of AG Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division with the assistance of victim witness advocates John Malone and Amber Anderson. The case was investigated by Erica Schlain and Denise Long of the Attorney General’s Office, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, Examiners from AG Healey’s Computer Forensics Lab, Special Agents from the Boston Office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and investigators from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau also assisted in this case.
MAD DOG a.k.a Punymurtula Kishore MD and Lil Dog a.k.a. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. are responsible for the death of Eleanor Clark of Weston , Massachusetts. Just look at what happen to James Clark . James Clark was a client at the same address where the Director/Manager Carl Smith resided at ,50 Draper Street in Dorchester MA. Carl Smith is suppose to be a state licensed Mental Health Clinician , If so , than why did he discharge James Clark ? James clark never tested postive for a toxicology screen for illegal or prescription drugs, than why was he discharged ? He was discharged for behavioral and attitude problems that were related to his psychiatric and substance abuse diagnosis. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. should have been able to detect that this man had psychological problems and referred him for treatment to MAD DOG aka Punyamurtula Kishore's Neurological Clinic for treatment and to help James Clark get back on his psychiatric medication. Instead , Carl Smith discharged him and the same day , James Clark murdered his 81 year old grandmother Eleanor Clark in Weston Massachusetts . Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka MAD DOG Millionaire referred James Clark to Carl Smith s Program New Horizon House after James Clark was Discharged from St. Elizabeths Hospital s S.E.C.A.P. s Detoxification unit. Punyamurtula Kishore aka MAD DOG had a Contract with Carl Smith to provide New Horizon clients with Medical and Mental health Treatment. No treatment was provided except for toxicology screens
BOSTON – MAD DOG pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail, and has been ordered to pay $9.3 million in restitution for running an intricate Medicaid fraud scheme involving millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. MAD DOG, 64, along with his company Preventive Medicine Associates, Inc. (PMA), pleaded guilty on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court. MAD DOG and PMA pleaded guilty to charges of Medicaid Kickbacks (8 counts), Medicaid False Claims (19 counts) and Larceny over $250 (11 counts). MAD DOG pleaded guilty to one count of Larceny over $250. MAD DOG orchestrated a complex kickback scheme to funnel a lucrative drug screening business to his laboratories and then billed taxpayers millions of dollars for those services,” AG Healey said. “This case exhibited blatant theft of state funds that were supposed to go toward care for some of our most vulnerable residents. This is fraud that undermines the integrity of our health care system.” Today, Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced MAD DOG to 360 days in the House of Correction, with 11 months to serve and the balance suspended for 10 years. As a condition to his sentence, MAD DOG has also agreed to surrender his medical license. Judge Sanders also ordered Kishore and PMA to pay, jointly and severally, a total of $9.3 million in restitution. Dr. MAD DOG previously owned and managed PMA, a network of 29 medical branches throughout Massachusetts, including physician office laboratories and one independent clinical laboratory. Based on the AG’s investigation, MAD DOG used bribes, or kickbacks, to induce sober house owners to send their residents’ urine drug screening business to his laboratories for testing. Residents were typically screened three times per week. A urine drug screen may be billed to MassHealth by a physician if the screen is medically necessary. Drug screens generally are billed to the MassHealth program for approximately $100 to $200. manipulated his business relationships with sober house owners to illegally obtain tens of thousands of drug screens paid for by MassHealth for sober house residents who were never treated by PMA providers. In September 2011, Dr. MAD DOG and PMA were indicted, and individually charged with Medicaid Kickbacks (8 counts), and Medicaid False Claims (8 counts). In November 2013, MAD DOG and PMA were indicted on additional charges of Medicaid False Claims (11 counts) and Larceny over $250 (11 counts) for billing MassHealth for millions of dollars in drug screens using the names of PMA physicians and nurse practitioners who were not actually treating the patients or determining the drug screens to be medically necessary. State regulations require that the services must be medically necessary and the provider must be physically present and actively involved in the treatment of the member. Two other individuals previously pleaded guilty to one count of Medicaid Kickbacks in connection with their involvement in MAD DOG’s scheme to defraud MassHealth. In June 2012, Damion Smith, 42, of New Jersey, president of Fresh Start Recovery Coalition, was sentenced to two years in the House of Correction suspended for two years with probation. Carl Smith, 69, of Dorchester, manager of New Horizon House, pleaded guilty in January 2015 and was sentenced to two years in the House of Correction suspended for two years with probation. The case against Thomas Leonard of Malden, the part owner and manager of the Marshall House, a sober house located in Malden, is ongoing. John Coughlin of Carver, president of Gianna’s House Inc., which operates several sober houses located in Wareham, New Bedford, and Sandwich, began his trial today in Suffolk Superior Court. This case, first referred to the AG's Office by MassHealth, was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Angela Neal, David Scheffler, and Lee Hettinger of AG Healey’s Medicaid Fraud Division with the assistance of victim witness advocates John Malone and Amber Anderson. The case was investigated by Erica Schlain and Denise Long of the Attorney General’s Office, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, Examiners from AG Healey’s Computer Forensics Lab, Special Agents from the Boston Office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and investigators from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau also assisted in this case
MAD DOGS' HOME DETOX PROTOCOL HAS CAUSED A LOT OF PEOPLE TO RELAPSE AND DIE. HE IS A QUACK IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. HE WAS NOT LICENSED TO PRACTICE ADDICTION MEDICINE BY THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPT. OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
A quack is someone who falsely claims medical knowledge and/or uses unproven and unscientific remedies. It is derived from the Dutch “quacksalver” meaning a person who cures with home remedies
Unproven, usually ineffective, and sometimes dangerous medicines and treatments have been peddled throughout human history. Theatrical performances were sometimes given to enhance the credibility of purported medicines. Grandiose claims were made for what could be humble materials indeed: for example, in the mid-19th century Revalenta Arabica was advertised as having extraordinary restorative virtues as an empirical diet for invalids; despite its impressive name and many glowing testimonials it was in truth only ordinary lentil flour, sold to the gullible at many times the true cost.
Is there a American College of Addiction Medicine and a National Library of Addictions.
MAD DOG a.k.a Punymurtula Kishore MD and Lil Dog a.k.a. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. New Horizon House, are responsible for the death of Eleanor Clark of Weston , Massachusetts. Just look at what happen to James Clark . James Clark was a client at the same address where the Director/Manager Carl Smith resided at ,New Horizon House , 50 Draper Street in Dorchester MA. Carl Smith is suppose to be a state licensed Mental Health Clinician , If so , than why did he discharge James Clark ? James clark never tested postive for a toxicology screen for illegal or prescription drugs, than why was he discharged ? He was discharged for behavioral and attitude problems that were related to his psychiatric and substance abuse diagnosis. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. should have been able to detect that this man had psychological problems and referred him for treatment to MAD DOG aka Punyamurtula Kishore s Neurological Clinic for treatment and to help James Clark get back on his psychiatric medication. Instead , Carl Smith discharged him and the same day , James Clark murdered his 81 year old grandmother Eleanor Clark in Weston Massachusetts . Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka MAD DOG Millionaire referred James Clark to Carl Smith s Program New Horizon House after James Clark was Discharged from St. Elizabeths Hospital s S.E.C.A.P. s Detoxification unit. Punyamurtula Kishore aka MAD DOG had a Contract with Carl Smith to provide New Horizon clients with Medical and Mental health Treatment. No treatment was provided except for toxicology screens . Carl Smith collected his program fee and MAD DOG billed his insurance company. What a shame !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!iiiik
Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka Mad Dog of Preventive Medicine Associates and Carl Smith of New Horizons House are CROOKS .
Carl Smith has a “lengthy criminal record” dating back to 1975 when he was convicted of armed robbery. He was sentenced to three to five years in state prison.
He was also convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery in 1979, larceny in 1989, forgery and embezzlement in 1991, forgery and larceny in 1994, and possession of a hypodermic needle or syringe in 1995,.
A Suffolk Grand Jury returned indictments against Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore, age 61, of Brookline, his company Preventive Medicine Associates, Inc. (PMA), as well as three others charged in connection with allegedly running an intricate “kickback” scheme and fraudulently billing MassHealth nearly $3.8 million. Dr. Kishore, and Preventive Medicine Associates, are both individually charged with Medicaid Kickbacks (8 counts), and Medicaid False Claims (8 counts).
Dr. Kishore owns and manages PMA, a network of 29 medical branches throughout Massachusetts, some of which include physician office laboratories. Based on the AG’s investigation, Dr. Kishore allegedly used bribes or “kickbacks”—taking several different forms—to induce sober house owners to require their residents submit to urine drug screens performed by PMA’s physician office laboratories a minimum of three times a week. Drug screens generally are billed to the MassHealth program at a price of approximately $100 to $200.
Dr. Kishore allegedly manipulated those business relationships to bill MassHealth for tens of thousands of “medically necessary” urine drug screen testing of Medicaid eligible residents.
The Grand Jury also returned indictments against the following individuals in connection with their involvement in Dr. Kishore’s scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Medicaid Program.
Carl Smith, age 65, of Dorchester, manager of New Horizon House, LLC, located in Dorchester, is charged with receiving Medicaid Kickbacks (one count).
•John Coughlin, age 31, of Carver, president of Gianna’s House Inc., which operates several sober houses located in Wareham, New Bedford, and Sandwich, is charged with receiving Medicaid Kickbacks (one count).
•Thomas Leonard, age 56, of Malden, the part owner and manager of the Marshall House, a sober house located in Malden, held in the name of the 18 Maplewood Malden Trust, is charged with receiving Medicaid Kickbacks (one count).
On September 20, 2011, State Police assigned to the AG’s Office arrested Dr. Kishore at his Brookline residence. He was arraigned the following day in Malden District Court on one count of Medicaid Kickbacks at which time he pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $150,000 and Dr. Kishore was ordered to surrender his passport and inform probation of any travel plans.
A Superior Court judge subsequently reduced Dr. Kishore’s bail to personal recognizance and ordered him released with monitoring of a GPS bracelet. The investigation is ongoing.
Carl Smith, was arrested last night in Dorchester and will be arraigned today in Suffolk Superior Court. The other defendants will be summonsed for arraignment at a date to be determined.
These charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Nancy Maroney and was investigated by Investigator Brian Robinson, both of the AG’s Medicaid Fraud Division. Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office, Examiners from AG Coakley’s Computer Forensics Lab, Special Agents from the Boston Office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and investigators from the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau also assisted in this case
MAD DOG aka Punyamurtula Kishore MD was caught several years ago as he was preparing to flee the country. Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore had Preventative Medical Associates, a drug analysis center with offices throughout the state. He collected urine from others and did unnecessary drug tests. He was caught several years ago as he was preparing to flee the country. He is sentenced to 11 months in jail and ordered to repay $9.3 million to the state. He also lost his license. His attorney said that the good doctor "dedicated his life's work to treating, assisting and serving those who have suffered from addiction. He has taken responsibility for the billing errors at his clinics. He hopes that his accomplishments in treating those suffering from addiction will not be overshadowed by this." Lots of luck.
Summary: MAD DOG a.k.a. Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore; License # 43282; Nature of Complaint: The physician was found to have inappropriately filed four Temporary Involuntary Hospitalization Applications for the purpose of drug treatment and drug testing. Action Taken: The physician was issued a reprimand, fined $2,500.00, required to perform fifty hours of Board approved community service, and complete additional continiung professional development credits.• State: Massachusetts
Summary: MAD DOG a.k.a. Dr. Punyamurtula S. Kishore; License # 43282; NATURE OF COMPLAINT: The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine found that the physician is an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare. ACTION TAKEN: The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine summarily suspended the physician's license
The state Board of Registration in Medicine has temporarily suspended the license of a Brookline doctor who operated several drug treatment offices on the Cape and Islands. The board summarily suspended the license of Dr. Punyamurtula S. Kishore at its Wednesday meeting after finding he posed an “an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare.” The board said Kishore closed clinics in 2011 without notifying patients in advance. “It’s a temporary action,” Katherine Dudich, interim general counsel at the state Board of Registration in Medicine, said. Kishore has the right to appeal the suspension to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals within seven days of the decision. Kishore also is facing a Medicaid fraud charge on allegations he bribed the owner of sober houses with $597,000 in insurance kickbacks to send patients needing urine screens to his treatment centers. Kishore operated a 30-office chain known as Preventive Medicine Associates Inc. In 2011 he was ordered to surrender his passport because he is considered a flight risk. An Indian national in the United States as a permanent resident, Kishore was the target of a grand jury investigation led by Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Medicaid Fraud Division. His case is ongoing, according to the attorney general’s office. Grant Woodman, a spokesman, said the next court date is May 19 for a motions hearing in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. Coakley alleges that Kishore orchestrated a kickback scheme that funneled drug screening business from sober houses to his laboratories, which then billed government-funded MassHealth for the services. Investigators say Kishore’s partner in a fraudulent “urinalysis contract” was Damion Smith, president of the Fresh Start Recovery Coalition Inc. The case led Coakley to file legislation that would prevent this type of fraud in the future. The legislation is currently in the fiscal year 2015 House budget. Kishore’s chain of clinics included offices in Sandwich, West Yarmouth, Falmouth, Barnstable, Wareham and Vineyard Haven. The sudden closings left hundreds of patients in the lurch, including patients who relied on shots of Vivitrol that stop the user from getting high on opiates. The state Board of Registration in Medicine alleges that Kishore “closed a number of outpatient clinics without notifying patients in advance of these closings and without providing these patients with any information as to alternatives for the continuity of their care or access to their medical records,” a board press release states. Attempts to reach Kishore were unsuccessful. Kishore, who specializes in addiction medicine, has held a Massachusetts physician’s license since 1974. In 2012 the board disciplined him for inappropriately filing four temporary involuntary hospitalization applications for the purpose of drug testing
MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE a.k.a. Punyamurtula Kishore MD, is a QUACK. Patients Die of Improper Medical Treatment and Care Protocols!!!! Many of Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore s patients have died because of improper treatment and care methods. This Quack MD ( Hitler of Medicine Genocide ) should not be allowed to practice medicine anywhere. Preventive Medicine Associates, formerly Addiction medicine Associates was a DEATH CAMP (The Holocaust for Drug Addicts and Alcoholics, Auschwitz in Brookline, MA) I worked at his Brookline office and witness the death of many patients. Dr. Kishore should be arrested, arraigned and prosecuted for 1st. degree murder or manslaughter. MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE aka PUNYAMURTULA KISHORE MD TRIAL DATE April 2014 Punyamurtula Kishore, M.D. and three other defendants went on trial in April 2014 and pleaded guilty for Medical Insurance Fraud. Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore was reprimanded, fined $2,500 and required to perform 50 hours of Board-approved community service and to complete additional continuing professional development credits. He was found to have inappropriately filed four Temporary Involuntary Hospitalization Applications for the purpose of drug treatment and drug testing. Dr. Kishore is a 1975 graduate of Andhra Medical College in India. He specializes in Addiction Medicine and has been licensed in Massachusetts since 1978
According to Martha MAD DOG a.k.a Punymurtula Kidhore MD and Lil Dog a.k.a. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. are responsible for the death of Eleanor Clark of Weston , Massachusetts. Just look at what happen to James Clark . James Clark was a client at the same address where the Director/Manager Carl Smith resided at ,50 Draper Street in Dorchester MA. Carl Smith is suppose to be a state licensed Mental Health Clinician , If so , than why did he discharge James Clark ? James clark never tested postive for a toxicology screen for illegal or prescription drugs, than why was he discharged ? He was discharged for behavioral and attitude problems that were related to his psychiatric and substance abuse diagnosis. Carl Smith L.M.H.C. should have been able to detect that this man had psychological problems and referred him for treatment to MAD DOG aka Punyamurtula K...ishore s Neurological Clinic for treatment and to help James Clark get back on his psychiatric medication. Instead , Carl Smith discharged him and the following day , James Clark murdered his 81 year old grandmother Eleanor Clark in Weston Massachusetts . Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka MAD DOG Millionaire referred James Clark to Carl Smith s Program New Horizon House after James Clark was Discharged from St. Elizabeths Hospital s S.E.C.A.P. s Detoxification unit. Punyamurtula Kishore aka MAD DOG had a Contract with Carl Smith to provide New Horizon clients with Medical and Mental health Treatment. No treatment was provided except for toxicology screens . Carl Smith collected James Clark s program fee and MAD DOG Kishore billed his insurance company . Carl Smith and Dr. Kishore donot care about thier clients or patients . The only thing they cared about was making money at the expense of HUMAN MISERY !!!!!!!!
Coakley, Kishore used various bribes or kickbacks to persuade sober house owners to require residents to submit urine tests at least three times per week. The tests were performed by PMA’s office laboratories, then billed to MassHealth, which pays $100 to $200 for such screens. Also charged in the case were Carl Smith, manager of New Horizon House, John Coughlin, president of Gianna’s House, and Thomas Leonard, part owner and manager of Marshall House—all for receiving kickbacks
Indian Doctor MAD DOG Steals $9 Million from U.S. Taxpayers: Gets 1 Year in Jail
Dr Punyamurtula Kishore – in healthcare, the criminals hide in plain sight
“This case exhibited blatant theft of state funds that were supposed to go toward care for some of our most vulnerable residents. This is fraud that undermines the integrity of our health care system.” (State Attorney General Maura Healey)
In the town of Brookline Massachusetts yet another Indian physician has been found guilty of defrauding Medicaid of millions of taxpayer funds, according to State Attorney General Maura Healey this morning.
How well do you know YOUR doctor?
Doctor Punyamurtula Kishore, age 64, whose ongoing scam business Preventive Medicine Associates provided an excellent cover for a monstrous kickback scheme, changed his “not guilty” plea to “guilty” yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court. He admitted to 19 counts of false Medicaid Claims; 8 counts of Medicaid Kickbacks and 11 other counts of grand theft. Attorney General Healey said, “this doctor orchestrated a complex kickback scheme to funnel a lucrative drug screening business to his laboratories and then billed taxpayers millions of dollars for those services.” As a result, Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced Kishore to 360 days in the jail and a 10-year suspended sentence. Kishore, age 63, was ordered to surrender his medical license and repay $9,300,000 in restitution. Lab coat lunatic Kishore had owned and operated Preventive Medicine Associates, which managed about 30 laboratories in Massachusetts, including physician office labs. The prosecution was able to prove that Kishore used bribery to induce operators of alcohol and drug housing to refer their residents’ urine screening business to his laboratories for testing. Residents were typically screened three times per week. By law, $100-$200 urine drug tests may legally be billed to MassHealth by a doctor if they are medically necessary. Kishore illegally obtained tens of thousands of drug screens paid for by MassHealth residents who were never qualified patients. State regulations require that the services must be medically necessary and the provider must be physically present and actively involved in the treatment. Here’s another look: http://brookline.wickedlocal.com/article/20150407/NEWS/150407086
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Our Observations:
This particular Third World Assassin graduated from Andhra Medical College in India in 1974. He immigrated to the U.S. and learned from his colleagues that the American medical system is rife with opportunities for massive theft. Had he been even slightly less greedy, it is likely he never would have been caught.
After his time in jail, do you wonder if this brazen public enemy will be deported?
Absolutely not. the United States does not deport foreign-born criminal doctors. We reward them.
Scandal afflicts some ‘sober homes,’ where recovering addicts must agree to drug testing by labs closely tied to landlords
Ronald Ahlgren, 28, thought he would find a safe haven in a sober home, but eventually asked to be returned to prison, where he has found more support.
Two years ago, Donald Ahlgren faced a dilemma common among the legions of drug addicts just out of detoxification programs: He needed an affordable place to live that wouldn’t reject him because of his past.
To his surprise, he had his pick of places.
These low-budget rooms were typically in apartment buildings or houses, and tucked in some of the most recession-plagued neighborhoods of Boston and nearby suburbs. Landlords advertised them as “sober homes,’’ an informal term used for rentals marketed to recovering substance abusers. Residents are warned about mandatory urine testing — typically three times a week — and zero-tolerance rules, but also promised a supportive you-can-do-it environment.
BILL GREENE/GLOBE STAFF
Ron Carlino Jr. at a sober house run by Twelve Step Education Program of New England, which Donald Ahlgren’s mother said was one of the few good programs.
“For a time, I was wanted,’’ recalled Ahlgren, 28, a North Reading native who had spent years in and out of drug rehabilitation programs and the courts.
Yet he quickly realized that many of these places did not seem to care much about preventing relapses. For all the attention to urine testing, Ahlgren said, he and other tenants sometimes got high on the side and then found, to their surprise and relief, that landlords did not evict them after “dirty’’ results.
Ahlgren soon discovered the dark side of this little-known niche of the drug world: Recovering addicts were cash cows for a financial alliance between sober homes and private drug-testing labs. Landlords needed the labs to show they were serious about sobriety, largely to get referrals to fill their rooms. And the labs needed access to lots of indigent substance abusers whose drug-screening tests qualified for lucrative Medicaid reimbursements worth millions of dollars a year.
These business relationships troubled Ahlgren and also drew the scrutiny of prosecutors, who now allege that a number of labs and sober homes engaged in fraud and abuse of Medicaid, the government’s health insurance program for the poor. On Friday, one major lab agreed to pay $20 million to settle state charges that it improperly billed for testing in sober homes.
‘It’s a big game. It’s all about the money.’
Donald Ahlgren, recovering addict
Prosecutors have said that, as labs aggressively competed to sign up addicts for testing some resorted to bribing sober home operators for exclusive access to their tenants. Several lab executives — including a Brookline doctor who treated Ahlgren — have also been indicted in schemes that, among other things, required addicts to undergo excessive urine testing — much more frequent than is typically recommended by substance abuse specialists.
The crackdown came too late for many struggling addicts like Ahlgren, who succumbed again to the grip of narcotics. He would eventually get clean, though only after going to extremes: He almost begged to be put behind bars again to escape from a world where all that anyone seemed to care about was his Medicaid card.
“It’s a big game,’’ he said. “It’s all about the money.’’
An effective program
After being released from a detoxification program in the summer of 2010, Ahlgren told his mother he was ready to change. He wanted to stop his OxyContin and heroin cravings, which had begun when he was in high school and had driven him to burglarize houses to pay for the drugs.
Though skeptical at first, Anne Marie Hallahan, a day-care teacher, knew her son had worked hard to get sober and she began seeing a sparkle in his eyes that reminded her of his happier days as an award-winning black-belt karate competitor.
He expressed an interest in sober homes, realizing that it wasn’t best for him to live any more with family and friends. When Ahlgren’s mother agreed to subsidize the rent — about $150 a week for a shared room — Ahlgren told her that she would not regret it. He promised he would eventually find work and become independent.
“I want you to be proud of me,’’ he said.
A drug treatment counselor recommended a sober home called New Horizon House. The house, in a residential section of Quincy, was part of a scattered complex of a half-dozen properties in Boston and Quincy, which Carl Smith, the 66-year-old landlord, had converted into sober homes for some 90 recovering substance abusers.
Sober homes are similar to halfway houses, providing shared bedroom space and communal living areas — and occasionally meals — for a weekly fee. Their numbers grew over the past decade as landlords found this specialized corner of the rental market profitable. But the homes are unregulated, and, other than ensuring that their properties meet building safety codes, landlords do not have to provide any special services or enforce any rules.
Still, most require urine testing, which is typically paid for by insurance. For instance, Medicaid pays about $100 to $200 for each urine screen, as long as a doctor signs a form saying the test is medically necessary.
“We certainly don’t want people who are using drugs in the house,’’ Smith, a former convict with a degree in mental health counseling, said in a court deposition. “We want people who are there to be in a recovery program.’’
Ahlgren learned that New Horizon’s testing rules were ironclad: All tenants had to use Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore of Brookline as their primary care doctor, or one of his associates, and submit three urine samples each week, at scheduled times, to Kishore’s lab and clinic operation, Preventive Medicine Associates.
FILE/THE BOSTON GLOBE
Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore during his arraignment on charges that he operated a kickback scheme and fraudulently billed the state for nearly $3.8 million.
This regimen differed from what many top addiction specialists, including John F. Kelly of the Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, recommend for most recovering addicts in such settings, which is random testing — not scheduled — once every week or two.
Kishore’s business had enjoyed stunning growth — he had about 30 offices throughout the state, employing about 370 people, including some 30 physicians. By 2010, Preventive Medicine enjoyed $4.9 million in annual Medicaid payments for urine screening.
Kishore’s business began to thrive soon after Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office launched criminal investigations of his competition. Willow Labs of Lynn had agreed in 2007 to a $8 million settlement for submitting Medicaid claims without proper medical approval. And in 2010, state prosecutors indicted Calloway Labs of Woburn and two executives for allegedly delivering bribes to sober home operators through sham companies and using fake doctors’ signatures on Medicaid claims. Calloway settled for $20 million this past week, while the executives, who have pleaded not guilty, await trial later this year.
With much of his competition tainted, Kishore, 61, made sales pitches to sober homes emphasizing that he was a medical doctor and employed other doctors, who could properly authorize drug tests.
Kishore prepared promotional materials comparing commercial labs — “Performs testing, then asks for referral after the fact (illegal)’’ — to his own lab — “Does a complete physical and obtains a complete patient history, then orders and performs testing (legal).’’
The physician began attracting more business, including from some sober-home managers who saw him as a dedicated doctor, one of the few willing to focus on substance abusers.
Ahlgren would have one face-to-face meeting with Kishore.
As a condition of staying at New Horizon, he had to attend relapse-prevention group sessions in Kishore’s Quincy clinic. During one, Ahlgren listened to a large, avuncular-looking doctor who spoke about the daily struggles against temptation. Kishore talked about resisting the thrill-seeking life, which increasingly tempted Ahlgren as he saw so many people around him using drugs and drinking. He had begun to smoke marijuana from time to time.
Dueling facilities
After a month or so at New Horizon, Ahlgren decided to try a new place. Tenants moved easily among sober homes because their rent was paid weekly and the landlords were always interested in attracting new tenants.
Ahlgren went to live in a cluster of a half-dozen town houses in the Fort Hill section of Roxbury, where he met a tall, charismatic former drug addict named David Perry. Perry sees himself on a public service mission to provide housing to an overlooked population, though his reputation in Roxbury suffered when he — along with a partner, David Fromm — ran a large sober-house operation, called Safe Haven, that shut down amid neighborhood outcry in 2007 over unruly and overcrowded conditions, as well as tenants’ drug and alcohol abuse.
Perry later started his own sober-home business, Recovery Educational Services, and when Ahlgren moved in, he found a familiar urine-screening routine: He had to submit three specimens a week, at scheduled times. They were sent to Precision Testing Laboratories — Fromm’s new venture.
Soon, Ahlgren got pulled into a bitter feud between Precision and Kishore’s labs, which had stolen away a number of sober-home clients from Fromm’s business, including New Horizon. Precision suspected something shady, perhaps kickbacks, and the company asked Ahlgren in the fall of 2010 to submit an affidavit for a lawsuit they were preparing.
Ahlgren ended up becoming a bit player in the effort to take down Kishore, testifying in his sworn statement that, at New Horizon, he and other tenants were required to use Kishore’s clinics for medical referrals and urine tests.
Ahlgren felt he had to submit the affidavit. He had become friendly with Perry, joining him occasionally to speak before recovering addicts’ groups. By now Ahlgren was struggling badly, taking OxyContin, heroin, and anything else he could get his hands on. He said he appreciated how Perry gave him a break, more than once, when Ahlgren’s urine screens turned out badly and he vowed to change.
“I’m very compassionate,’’ said Perry recalling Ahlgren’s occasional lapses. “Donny tried.’’
Last March, Precision filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against Kishore and his business, and among Kishore’s subpoenaed bank records, Precision’s lawyers later found what they were looking for - about a dozen $1,000 checks to Smith’s New Horizon House, with the memo field saying “facility fee.’’
Prosecutors would find even more. In Kishore’s records, they turned up checks to numerous sober home operators; prosecutors viewed them as bribes, though the payments were veiled as salaries for no-show jobs or fees for alleged rental of beds or space in sober homes. Some checks were drawn from an account in the name of a nonprofit institution that Kishore had created as an educational resource for drug treatment specialists, the National Library of Addictions.
Kishore was indicted last fall, charged with fraudulently billing Medicaid nearly $4 million for tens of thousands of urine screens that allegedly induced through bribery. The indictment against Kishore and his business also named eight sober home operations that allegedly accepted Kishore’s bribes in return for exclusive access to their tenants.
Carl Smith of New Horizon was among the defendants, charged with accepting some $34,000 from Kishore’s operation, including weekly payments for doing “little or no work.’’
In all, the case involved more than 860 Medicaid recipients and more than 53,000 claims. Kishore and Preventive Medicine Associates pleaded not guilty and defended the payments to sober homes as legitimate business expenses. Smith also pleaded not guilty.
The alleged corruption involving sober homes and labs has led state health authorities to look into regulating these homes, and while no specifics have been released, they are expected to issue a report later this year. Meanwhile, Medicaid is now forcing labs to give detailed medical justification for urine tests involving sober house tenants, prompting Precision Labs to complain that this population is being singled out.
Substance abuse counselors, however, say they welcome the state’s scrutiny. Some sober homes provide a supportive transitional environment for recovering addicts, they say, but others simply pursue profits, and their loose environment often tempt addicts to resume their habits.
“They’re really just boarding houses, and as long as you pay rent, they don’t care,’’ said Nicholas Tenaglia, program director of the Men’s Addiction Treatment Center in Brockton.
One morning in December, as a Globe reporter made an unannounced visit to Kishore’s Brookline offices, the physician appeared in the hallway. He was dressed in a suit coat and formal slacks, which concealed the GPS ankle bracelet he was required to wear as a condition of bail.
Kishore spoke amiably about his “public health mission’’ to help desperate substance abusers, a population many doctors avoid because recovery is so often difficult, prolonged, and full of setbacks. He said he regrets that his patients had been forced to scatter in search of new clinics when he shut down his operation after Medicaid stopped paying him.
Kishore looked wistfully down the hallway, with doors leading to now-empty offices. “We were a pretty big enterprise at one time,’’ he said, then politely cut short the conversation. He has declined requests for further interviews.
Meanwhile, Ahlgren’s mother watched helplessly as her son’s life spiraled out of control. She spoke highly of one of the last sober homes where her son stayed, Twelve Step Education Program of New England, in Woburn. But other than that, she felt the money she spent for this kind of housing was wasted.
“These sober homes turned out to be just dumping grounds,’’ she said.
She was convinced that her son needed long-term hospitalization. She said Medicaid declined to cover an extended stay, and he did not know where to turn. Ahlgren, gaunt and pale, worried that he would steal again to feed his habit. Late last summer, he called a probation officer assigned to him from an out-of-state burglary conviction: Take me in, please, he pleaded, before I do something.
Now in a state prison in Warren, Maine, Ahlgren said he got sober by going cold turkey in the structured environment behind bars. He said asking to be incarcerated was one of his best decisions.
MAD DOG aka PUNYAMURTULA KISHORE MD 2020 I was in a AA meeting once and the speaker mentioned Dr Kishore, and the entire room erupted into laughter. I saw him back in the late 90s and he was a quack then. He was FAR from free. He had been fined years ago because when you sat in his waiting room (an hour was considered quick) he'd bill the insurance co's for that time. Then once you saw him he'd tell you what a great guy he was for working with addicts. Ive been clean for over 10 years now and those professionals who really helped me were ones that didnt need to continiously pat themselves on the back. Addicts are a nightmare to work with, and I commend all those that put up with it all to help those in need. But theres no way you're ever going to convince me Kishore was one of those people
