Farmington Hills Physical Therapist Convicted of Fraud, License Suspended

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) has immediately suspended the physical therapy license of Chyawan K. Bansil, P.T., of Farmington Hills based on his convictions in the United States District Court, Western District of Michigan, according to a press release.

This past November, Bansil, 61, was convicted of health care fraud and of money laundering, the press release states. Bansil was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 13 months; supervised release for a period of one year with terms; and ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,100,200.

On March 14, LARA suspended Bansil’s license pursuant to the Public Health Code, which provides for the mandatory suspension of a health professional’s license upon the conviction of a felony.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, between February 2007 and January 2012, Bansil defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan of more than $1 million by causing those programs to be billed for expensive nerve conduction studies and needle electromyography tests that Bansil did not perform.

At the sentencing hearing in held in Grand Rapids this fall, Judge Robert Holmes Bell noted that Bansil violated the trust of patients and “worsened the health care crisis” in this country.

Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, Chicago Region, which includes the state of Michigan, said this case demonstrates the high level of coordination between all of the investigating parties.

“This case is a classic example of an individual being motivated by pure greed and demonstrating his willingness to tell lies to get to money...Those who seek to defraud federal and/or private health care programs should know that many eyes are upon them,” he said.