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Indian American urologist to pay $14M in fraud settlement
Prosecutors said the urology practice subjected patients to a range of allegedly unnecessary tests and procedures.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 02, Apr 2026
- 16:22 EDT
- 28
Jitesh Patel / Advance Urology
Advanced Urology founder Jitesh Patel and affiliated companies agreed to pay $14 million to settle fraud allegations, the Department of Justice said.
Federal authorities said the practice carried out or billed for a series of unnecessary urological and diagnostic procedures in order to increase revenue.
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The settlement resolves allegations under the federal False Claims Act and the Georgia False Medicaid Claims Act involving claims submitted to Medicare, Medicaid, and other government healthcare programs.
According to the lawsuit, the allegations included implanting permanent sacral nerve stimulator devices without first determining whether patients would benefit, performing unnecessary cystoscopy and retrograde pyelogram procedures, and ordering thousands of ultrasound tests that were not medically necessary.
Prosecutors also alleged that Advanced Urology routinely performed electromyography testing on nearly every new patient despite the test being rarely used in urology practices.
Authorities further alleged that the practice billed federal healthcare programs for Direct Visual Internal Urethrotomy, or DVIU, a more complex procedure, while allegedly performing a simpler urethral dilation instead in some cases.
“Physicians commit fraud when they seek payment for medically unnecessary procedures or bills for services they never performed,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. “Our office will not tolerate abuse of patients or misuse of government funds, and we will enforce the False Claims Act to hold wrongdoers accountable.”
The government’s investigation began after two whistleblower complaints were filed—one by a former Advanced Urology employee and another by a former physician with the practice.
The complaints alleged that the organization was structured to maximize revenue for Patel and others through medically unnecessary procedures, diagnostic testing, and false billing.
The civil settlement resolves two lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblowers will collectively receive $2.94 million from the settlement.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Patel is listed as the founder and president of Advanced Urology, a metro Atlanta-based urology practice that describes itself as a leading regional center for urological care and surgery. He also serves as president and CEO of Advanced Urology Surgery Center, Advanced Urology Imaging Center, Men’s Health Georgia, and Atlanta Continence Center, according to his professional biography.
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