Washington, Apr 20 (IANS): An Indian-origin physician in the US has been charged with conspiracy to unlawfully dispense controlled substances and commit healthcare fraud.

Neurologist Anil Prasad, 62, of Mandeville, Louisiana, was charged with one count of prescribing controlled substances outside the course of professional practice for no legitimate purpose and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, according to US Attorney Peter G. Strasser.

The court documents said that between November 2016 and July 2018, Prasad worked at a pain management clinic in Slidell. During the course of his employment, he pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances without performing patient examinations to determine medical necessity.

The Justice Department said that Prasad knew that certain of those patients used their Medicare and Medicaid benefits to fill those prescriptions. In total, Medicare and Medicaid paid approximately $1,657,461.15 for those prescriptions.

If convicted, Prasad faces a possible maximum sentence of 30 years and $1.25 million fine on both counts he is charged with.