Physician and son plead guilty to conspiring to receive kickbacks

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An Edinburg physician and his son pleaded guilty to conspiring to receive kickbacks in exchange for referring prescriptions to local pharmacies.

According to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, Dr. Tajul Shams Chowdhury, 75, a licensed physician, owned and operated a medical practice in Edinburg called Center for Pain Management.

His son, Mohammad Imtiaz Chowdhury, 43, worked as a purported marketer for a local pharmacy.

Court documents show prescriptions for costly compound drugs were referred from Dr. Chowdhury’s clinic in exchange for kickback payments made from the pharmacy to Mohammad. 

In total, Mohammad was paid $6.6 million in kickbacks as part of the scheme.

Both men were permitted to remain on bond pending their sentencing, which is currently scheduled for March 25.