A doctor with offices in The Villages, Summerfield and Ocala is accused of defrauding Medicare and performing unnecessary procedures on patients.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday that it was joining a pair of whistleblower lawsuits against Dr. Asad Qamar, and his medical group, the Institute for Cardiovascular Excellence.
Qamar is reportedly among the highest-billing doctors in the Medicare program.
The lawsuits allege that Qamar also illegally waived co-payments in order to win the confidence of his patients.
Medicare payment data released last April showed that Qamar collected $18 million from the government program in 2012. That would make him second among all doctors in the country.
The Justice Department filed the civil case in a Florida federal court. It’s said to be part of a larger effort to crack down on target doctors who abuse both Medicare and Medicaid programs.
One suit was filed by an unnamed whistleblower and the other by Holly Taylor, who worked for Qamar and his practice in 2010.