A man from Geneva, Illinois has been sentenced to two years in prison for his involvement in a scheme that defrauded Medicare of more than $2 million. Kartik Bhatia, 36, received the sentence from U.S. Senior District Court Judge Patti B. Saris in federal court in Boston.
Bhatia was charged in August 2025 with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of making false statements. Prosecutors stated that Bhatia worked alongside Raju Sharma and other co-conspirators to operate a durable medical equipment (DME) company. The group paid telemarketing firms for orders of orthotic devices such as ankle, wrist, knee, and back braces.
According to the announcement, “Often, the Medicare beneficiaries did not need or want the braces the defendants shipped them and, the doctors whose signatures appeared on these DME orders often did not treat these beneficiaries and did not prescribe the DME.” Authorities also noted that after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services suspended payments to Bhatia’s original DME company due to these activities, he opened a new business that continued similar conduct.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge at Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General; and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Graber and Sarah Hoefle prosecuted the case.
