Somerset Doctor Gets 20 Months For Defrauding Veterans Affairs

SOMERSET, NJ — A cardiologist from Somerset was sentenced Tuesday to 20 months in prison for defrauding the Veterans Affairs program more than 350 times by billing for services he never performed, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Apostolos Voudouris, 44, previously pleaded guilty in August 2017 before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging him with health care fraud.

• See Related: Somerset Doctor Defrauded Veterans Affairs 350 Times: U.S. Attorney

Voudouris also entered into a civil settlement agreement with the government, under which he will pay $476,460 to resolve the government’s claims under the False Claims Act.

Voudouris, a physician specializing in cardiology and electrophysiology, began providing services to eligible veterans at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in East Orange, pursuant to his contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 2006.

On more than 350 occasions between 2011 and 2015, Voudouris claimed he performed procedures he had not actually performed. By doing so, Voudouris fraudulently received $238,230 from the VA, he admitted.

In addition to the prison term, Walls sentenced Voudouris to two years of supervised release and fined him $7,500. As part of his plea agreement, Voudouris must pay restitution of $238,230 to the VA in addition to the $476,460 civil settlement, for a total of $714,690.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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