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Indian American doctor convicted for unlawful opioid distribution
Neil K. Anand was found guilty of conspiring to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 17, Apr 2025
- 13:05 EDT
- 90
Representative image / Unsplash
An Indian American doctor was convicted by a federal jury for his role in large-scale conspiracies involving the illegal distribution of opioids and healthcare fraud.
Neil K. Anand, 48, of Bensalem, Pennsylvania, was found guilty of conspiring to unlawfully distribute controlled substances and to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.
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According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Anand dispensed medically unnecessary prescription medications through in-house pharmacies he owned, while simultaneously orchestrating the unlawful distribution of opioids, including oxycodone.
As part of the scheme, Anand and his co-conspirators submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Independence Blue Cross (IBC), Anthem, and health plans provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). These claims were for “Goody Bags”—packages of prescription medications that patients neither needed nor requested. Evidence showed that patients were compelled to accept the Goody Bags in order to obtain prescriptions for opioids.
The Department of Justice stated that federal health programs and insurers paid over $2.3 million for these unnecessary medications.
In total, Anand prescribed 20,850 oxycodone tablets to nine patients as part of the conspiracy. Investigators found that unlicensed medical interns wrote prescriptions using blank forms pre-signed by Anand. After learning of the federal investigation, Anand transferred approximately $1.2 million to an account in his father's name for the benefit of his minor daughter, in an effort to conceal the proceeds of the fraud.
Anand was convicted on three counts of health care fraud, one count of money laundering, four counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He faces a statutory maximum sentence of 130 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for August 19.
The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (Postal Service OIG), and the Office of Personnel Management Office of Inspector General (OPM-OIG), with assistance from the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office.
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