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Rehan “Ray” Zuberi, 46, and Humara Paracha, 39, admitted that they paid thousands — in amounts of $50 to $150 — to have doctors refer patients to their Diagnostic Imaging Affiliates centers for tests, even if they were unnecessary.
Zuberi pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to commit bribery.
Paracha, a DIA co-owner and president, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy.
State prosecutors said they’ll recommend either 10 years in prison for Zuberi at sentencing, with a minimum of four years that he must serve –or eight years with a minimum of two if he cooperates with an investigation targeting the physicians.
They said they’ll recommend probation for Paracha.
The Boonton couple must pay $1 million restitution under their plea agreements.
New management was either continuing to operate or reopening the facilities, state authorities said.
Two orthopedic surgeons — one from Franklin Lakes and the other Hackensack — were among seven doctors charged with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from Zuberi. READ MORE….
Authorities charged Zuberi with enlisting his wife, his father and two brothers-in-law in the scheme. They said he also avoided income and franchise taxes.
More than a dozen search warrants were executed last June by more than 100 investigators at radiology centers controlled by Zuberi in Hackensack, Englewood, Jersey City and elsewhere, as well as at Zuberi’s 9,000-square-foot mansion, his father’s Middlesex County home and another private residence.
Authorities seized more than more than $100,000 cash from Zuberi, as well as high-end Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other sports car, and placed liens on his home and imaging equipment.
Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz in Morristown set sentencing for both for June 12.
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