6 days ago
Two St. Louis area doctors admit federal health care crimes
ST. LOUIS – Two St. Louis area doctors appeared in federal court in the past two months and admitted committing health care crimes.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Dr. Asim Muhammad Ali, 54, admitted to performing health care services for Medicaid patients of Psych Care Consultants, LLC, owned and operated by psychiatrist Dr. Mohd Azfar Malik, 71.
Ali said he used Malik's name Medicare billing number for these visits, which were supposed to include a cognitive function assessment, but admitted that he did not see these patients in person but instead called and asked them a series of questions.
Malik admitted submitting false claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers for in-person services while he was either out of the state or the country. In one incident, Dr. Ali performed an intravenous ketamine infusion while Dr. Malik was in Hawaii, while Ali was already under federal indictment and lacked proper registration allowing him to administer controlled substances.
'Devil in the Ozarks' escapes north Arkansas prison
Ali pleaded guilty on May 22 to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and maintain a drug-involved premises. Malik pleaded guilty in April to two counts of making false statements related to health care matters. In addition to his guilty plea, Malik agreed to surrender his registrations with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) which allows him to prescribe or administer controlled substances.
Last year, Ali pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances, one count of illegally prescribing controlled substances, one count of paying illegal kickbacks for referrals, and one count of submitting false claims in a separate 2020 case.
Ali is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 25 for both cases, while Malik will be sentenced on Aug. 11.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
