Federal appeals court upholds 10-year sentence for Hoffman Estates doctor

A federal appeals court has upheld the 10-year prison sentence given to a Northwest suburban doctor who authorities say performed numerous unnecessary medical procedures on unknowing patients in order to boost her bills.

Mona Ghosh, 53, of Inverness, received the sentence in June 2025, months after pleading guilty to two counts of health care fraud related to her work as a OB/GYN at a medical office she owned and operated in Hoffman Estates.

Federal prosecutors alleged that from 2018 to 2022, Ghosh submitted fraudulent claims to Medicaid and other insurers for procedures and services that were not medically necessary.

Some of the procedures were performed without patient consent and could affect patients’ ability to have children in the future, authorities alleged.

Part of her plea agreement required her to pay back $1.5 million to the insurers, officials said.

In her appeal, Ghosh argued that she was given a “substantively unreasonable” sentence, and the judge who handed it down failed to give her enough credit for taking responsibility for her actions and overemphasized the physical harm she caused patients.

The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected those arguments Friday, ruling that the court was entitled to weigh patient harm more strongly than any evidence in Ghosh’s favor.

“Despite beginning her career trying to help individuals obtain needed health care, Dr. Ghosh turned to fraudulent billing in a shift toward her own personal interests,” Justice Kenneth Ripple wrote in the court’s 22-page decision.

ckeeshan@dailyherald.com