Ex-Hospital CEO Gets 2 Years For Fraud Scheme

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Los Angeles hospital executive convicted of a Medicare fraud scheme involving phony patients has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Dr. Rudra Sabaratnam was sentenced Monday and must pay more than $4.1 million in restitution. Sabaratnam is the former co-owner and chief executive of City of Angels Medical Center.

Prosecutors say the 66-year-old Brentwood physician paid recruiters to hire homeless people off Skid Row to become patients at the hospital, where some received unnecessary treatment.

Sabaratnam then billed Medicare and Medi-Cal. He pleaded guilty to health care fraud in December 2008.

Another hospital co-owner was sentenced to three years in prison and two other men await sentencing.

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