Two Indian-origin brothers, Bhaskar Savani and Arun Savani, have been convicted in a major fraud case involving H-1B visa abuse and healthcare scams in the US state of Pennsylvania. According to the US Department of Justice, the brothers operated a criminal network called the Savani Group, which ran several dental clinics and businesses for more than a decade and illegally earned millions of dollars. Investigators said the brothers filed fake H-1B visa applications to hire foreign workers and forced some employees to pay illegal kickbacks. They also carried out a healthcare fraud by submitting false billing claims to the Medicaid program through dental clinics run by nominees and even billed services under dentists who were not present. The fraud caused more than $32 million in losses to Pennsylvania’s Medicaid system. A federal jury found them guilty on charges including visa fraud, healthcare fraud, money laundering, and racketeering, and they could face very long prison sentences.
