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Suburban doctor charged with illegally dispensing OxyContin

A suburban physician was arrested on charges that he conspired to illegally dispense OxyContin and then fraudulently billed Medicare.

Sathish Narayanappa Babu, 47, of Bolingbrook was arrested Wednesday and charged in federal court with conspiracy to illegally dispense a controlled substance and health care fraud. He is the owner of Anik Life Sciences Medical Corp., which had been located in Arlington Heights before moving to Darien last fall.

Babu was released on a $100,000 bond Thursday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila Finnegan also prohibited him from writing any prescriptions or submitting any claims to Medicare.

His next court date is Tuesday.

Babu could not be reached Thursday at any of the seven contact phone numbers listed on his company's website.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, between November 2012 and December 2013, Babu wrote five prescriptions - each for 60 doses of 80mg strength OxyContin - to a patient who was actually an undercover agent, despite never having seen or examined the patient. The complaint said Babu also permitted unlicensed personnel associated with Anik Life Sciences to issue prescriptions to the patient.

The undercover agent had posed as a healthy person covered by Medicare who was seeking physician services to obtain medication, including oxycodone. The agent pretended to have shoulder pain from a previous injury and to be on disability.

On approximately 10 occasions, representatives from Anik Life Sciences - none of whom were licensed as physicians, nurses or other medical professionals in Illinois - visited the undercover agent in his apartment, the complaint said.

Babu submitted false claims to Medicare for services provided to the patient that were not rendered by Babu or another medical professional licensed in Illinois, according to the complaint.

Additionally, the approximately 300 OxyContin pills prescribed to the undercover agent were paid for in large part by Medicare.

Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI executed federal search and seizure warrants at Babu's home and office. They also seized more than $100,000 from Anik's bank accounts.

Conspiracy to illegally dispense oxycodone carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Restitution is mandatory.

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