A New York eye surgeon has been indicted, accused of fraudulently accepting two Paycheck Protection Program loans associated with COVID-19 relief for which he was ineligible, according to a news release from The U.S. Department of Justice Southern District of New York.
Six things to know:
1. Ameet Goyal, MD, who owns Eye Associates Group in New York and Rye Eye Associates in Greenwich, Conn., is accused of accepting two PPP loans totaling $637,200. He was ineligible for the loans because he is currently under investigation for a separate $3 million healthcare fraud scheme, according to the DOJ news release.
2. Dr. Goyal was indicted June 24 on charges of bank fraud and making false statements on the loan applications. Eligible borrowers may only receive one PPP loan, but Dr. Goyal applied for two: one for $358,700 for Eye Associates Group and another for $278,500 for Rye Eye Associates, according to the DOJ news release.
3. On both loan applications, Dr. Goyal submitted the same payroll report showing a $97,273 monthly payroll. He also claimed to not be facing any criminal charges on the loan applications, according to the DOJ news release.
4. Dr. Goyal received the full amount of both loans, according to the DOJ news release.
5. The original indictment against Dr. Goyal was issued Nov. 21, 2019, alleging he defrauded patients, Medicare and private insurance by submitting false claims for services not performed and overbilling for services that were performed.
6. Dr. Goyal's attorney told Westfair Online, a business journal publication in White Plains, N.Y., that his team is moving to dismiss the first indictment and fight the remaining case at trial.
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