U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced Dr. Sonny Saggar, a St. Louis area doctor, to 35 months in prison for defrauding Medicare and Missouri Medicaid. Saggar, who ran two urgent care centers, must also repay $742,528 and will be on supervised release for three years following his prison term.
Saggar admitted to hiring assistant physicians (APs) at St. Louis General Hospital locations in downtown St. Louis and near Creve Coeur but billing services as if he had personally attended to patients, even when he was out of town. APs are medical graduates who have not completed residency and require close supervision by licensed physicians under written collaborative practice arrangements (CPAs).
He confessed to employing numerous APs from July 2018 to July 2023 without proper training or supervision and misleadingly advertising the facilities as "residency prep" programs. To circumvent regulations that limit one physician to supervising no more than six APs, Saggar offered stipends up to $480 monthly to induce other doctors to act as collaborating physicians.
Additionally, in January 2022, Saggar hired an indicted doctor with suspended Medicaid billing privileges as the sole collaborating physician at the Creve Coeur location but did not disclose this arrangement.
The fraudulent activities resulted in a loss of $742,528 to Medicare and Missouri Medicaid.
Special Agent Linda T. Hanley stated: "Today's sentencing underscores our commitment to ensuring that providers are held accountable for submitting fraudulent claims for financial gain and for deliberately concealing critical information about healthcare professionals."
FBI Special Agent Ashley Johnson commented: “This crime went beyond bilking taxpayer-funded healthcare programs... Dr. Sonny Saggar risked the well-being of patients with urgent medical needs.”
DEA Special Agent Michael Davis added: “Our investigation shows that Dr. Saggar broke with protocol and endangered lives with his negligence... As a result of his misconduct, he was arrested... can no longer prescribe controlled substances.”
Renita Barringer, Saggar's office manager, pleaded guilty in December and is scheduled for sentencing on April 22.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric is prosecuting the case.