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Alice Chu, 64, went to trial in U.S. District Court in Newark after federal authorities accused her of submitting more than $8.8 million in bogus claims for "items and services that were medically unnecessary, ineligible for reimbursement, and/or not provided as represented," court papers show.
Jurors found her guilty on Tuesday, March 8 of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud, authorities reported.
Prosecutors argued that, from 2010 through 2019, Chu billed Medicare and other health insurance programs for expensive infusion medication that her New Life Rheumatology Center in Clifton never purchased. Chu also fraudulently billed millions of dollars for allergy services that patients never needed or received, they said.
Chu has remained free -- with prohibitions on all international travel and on billing to Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federal health care program -- since an initial court appearance in Newark in Sept. 25, 2019.
Her sentencing was scheduled for July 14.
The FBI, the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DOD-OIG) investigated.
Acting Assistant Chief Rebecca Yuan and Trial Attorney Nicholas Peone of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section handled the prosecution.
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