EAST BRUNSWICK — A retired Veterans Administration worker from East Brunswick has been sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for submitting false claims for medical services he said were performed in Egypt.
Fawzi Saleh, 70, also must pay $253,727 in restitution as well as a $10,000 fine imposed by U.S. District Judge Faith Hochberg.
Saleh previously pleaded guilty to a count of defrauding a health-care benefits program.
Saleh worked at the Veterans Adminstration Medical Center in East Orange from 1995 to 2008, retiring as a financial accounts technician.
Saleh admitted that he submitted the false claims for himself and his wife from June 2001 through June 2009, saying that they received medical care at a hospital in Cairo that does not exist.
Saleh claimed he paid for the treatments in cash. Authorities said Blue Cross Blue Shield reimbursed him tens of thousands of dollars.
