A Detroit-area doctor was told he could be freed from federal custody for a price. The price of freedom for the 77-year-old physician: $7 million.
Rajendra Bothra, of Bloomfield Hills, was indicted in December with five other doctors for alleged participation in a health care fraud scheme. The physicians are accused of running the fraudulent operation from the Pain Center and Interventional Pain Center, in Warren and Eastpointe.
According to the Macomb Daily, Bothra was expected to be able to pay the $7 million price of bail by cashing in his Roth IRA retirement account. Prosecutors believe that the more than $8 million in those accounts were not from any purportedly illegal activities.
The bond comes with conditions that include house arrest, a GPS tether, and permission only to leave his residence for court appearances and medical appointments.
He would also have to put his two homes up as collateral, the article states. The residential properties are together worth about $2.5 million.
A trial in the case is scheduled to begin July 9.
A prosecutor said Bothra is a flight risk because of his age, foreign family ties and because people in similar circumstances have fled before trial. “Defendants similar to Dr. Botha do not stick around to have the court determine their fate,” the prosecutor said.
Officials have called the alleged scheme the largest health care fraud in the U.S. The doctors are accused of trying to maximize their billings by overprescribing addictive opioids and then pressuring patients to undergo often unnecessary medical procedures and purchase unneeded medical devices in order to continue receiving the painkillers to which they had become addicted.
Those facing similar white collar charges should decline to speak to investigators or prosecutors until they have spoken with a skilled criminal defense attorney devoted to protecting rights and freedom.