PARSIPPANY — A cardiologist with a practice in Paterson, and his wife pleaded guilty to their involvement in a test-referral bribe scheme operated by Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services LLC (BLS), of Parsippany, its president and numerous associates, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Aiman Hamdan, 50, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to a superseding information charging him with accepting bribes in violation of the Federal Travel Act. His wife, Kristina Hamdan, 39, pleaded guilty before Judge Chesler to Counts One and Thirteen of an indictment charging her with conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Federal Travel Act and the honest services wire fraud statute, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In September 2008, Aiman Hamdan was given a $500,000 loan by BLS in exchange for his agreement to refer patient blood samples to BLS. From October 2008 through November 2008, Aiman Hamdan caused approximately $53,000 of blood samples to be referred to BLS, resulting in the lab being paid that amount by Medicare and private insurance companies.

From November 2009 through April 2013, Kristina Hamdan, a former sales employee of the lab, agreed with others to pay doctors illegal bribes in exchange for the doctors’ agreement to refer patient blood specimens to BLS.

For example, Kristina Hamdan bribed Yousef Zibdie, 53, of Wayne, an internal medicine doctor with a practice in Woodland Park, in exchange for generating more than $900,000 in lab business for BLS. The bribes were funded by BLS and, in an effort to obscure the source and nature of the payments, paid to the doctors by Kristina Hamdan through a sham entity that also paid the Hamdans’ household and personal expenses.

Aiman Hamdan faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison on the Federal Travel Act charge. Kristina Hamdan faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison on Count One of the indictment and a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison on Count Thirteen of the indictment. Each count also carries a maximum $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

As part of their guilty pleas, Aiman and Kristina Hamdan agreed to forfeit and pay back $15,000 and $1.2 million in criminal proceeds, respectively. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for February 14, 2018.

Zibdie previously pleaded guilty on June 21, 2017 and awaits sentencing.

The investigation has thus far resulted in 53 convictions – 38 of them doctors – in connection with the bribery scheme, which its organizers have admitted involved millions of dollars in bribes and resulted in more than $100 million in payments to BLS from Medicare and various private insurance companies. It is believed to be the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in a bribery case.

The investigation has to date recovered more than $13 million through forfeiture. On June 28, 2016, BLS, which is no longer operational, pleaded guilty and was required to forfeit all of its assets.

Acting U.S. Attorney Fitzpatrick credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin; IRS–Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen; and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the ongoing investigation.

The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Joseph N. Minish, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Danielle Alfonzo Walsman, Charles Graybow, and Jacob T. Elberg, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Ward, Acting Chief of the office’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Unit.

The New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office reorganized its health care fraud practice in 2010 and created a stand-alone Health Care and Government Fraud Unit to handle both criminal and civil investigations and prosecutions of health care fraud offenses. Since that time, the office has recovered more than $1.37 billion in health care fraud and government fraud settlements, judgments, fines, restitution and forfeiture under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and other statutes.

PARSIPPANY — The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills (WCPTH) wants to thank everyone who donated money and or filled holiday stockings to be donated to Boatsie’s Boxes.  Boatsie’s Boxes is a nonprofit, 501(c)3, charitable organization dedicated to supporting our troops when they are far from home. Boatsie’s Boxes sends holiday stockings filled with toiletries, snacks, phone cards, games, cleaning wipes and other items hard to find while serving overseas. For more information on Boatsie’s Boxes click here.

WCPTH club members, their friends and co-workers filled 95 stockings – almost double the number of stockings filled last year.  And for the first time, WCPTH received a monetary donation from a sister Woman’s Club in Alabama.  The GFWC Huntsville Woman’s Club read about WCPTH’S efforts and sent a check.  WCPTH used the money to fill an additional five stockings and to help defray shipping costs.

The Woman’s Club of Parsippany-Troy Hills is a member of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs of GFWC (NJSFWC), which is the largest volunteer women’s service organization in the state, providing opportunities for education, leadership training, and community service.    For more information call Cathy at (973) 984-0758, e-mail the club at womansclubofpth@gmail.com, click here for website.

PARSIPPANY —  The Morris County Clerk’s Passport Division is taking its passport operation on Wednesday, November 29 to Parsippany, the county’s most populous municipality, stopping at the municipal building on Parsippany Boulevard from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

There also will be an opportunity for new notaries to be commissioned or for existing notaries to obtain commission renewals, or call (973) 285-6122 for more information.

The goal of the passport outreach is to make it more convenient for residents to obtain passports, especially for people who may not be able to come to the County Clerk’s passport office in Morristown or to get to any passport office due to their working hours.

“We hope this service makes it easier for residents of Parsippany and neighboring towns to obtain passports, which are more vital than ever for travel and also for identification purposes,’’ said Morris County Clerk Ann Grossi.

The “Passport Outreach Program’’ will benefit anyone in need of a new or renewed passport, said Grossi.

The Parsippany municipal building is located at 1001 Parsippany Boulevard.

Unlike previous Passport Outreach Program offerings, no appointments are needed. Residents can walk-in for service.  Important: Applicants must arrive prior to 1:30.

County Clerk Grossi urges anyone interested in using the service to review carefully what they must bring to the passport center, and to call her office if they have any questions.

“We certainly want this process to go smoothly for applicants, so it is important they understand what is required to obtain or renew a passport,’’ Grossi said.

Here is what you need:

• Citizenship evidence: A certified birth certificate (not a photocopy) listing both parents’ names, or a current passport, or a naturalization certificate, or a consular report of birth abroad.
• Photograph: You must bring a color 2 x 2 photo with white or light background (photos can be obtained at local merchants, such as CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, and other locations)
• Proof of Identification: A driver’s license, previously issued passport, government or military ID, or a naturalization certificate.
• Minors must appear with both parents, properly identified. The child’s original birth certificate issued by the Bureau of Vital Statistics or the Department of Health and stating both of the parent’s names must be submitted.
• Social Security Numbers are required for all applications (including minors)
• Personal checks, money orders or bank checks are required. Cash, credit cards and debit cards are NOT accepted. There will be two separate payments required for each passport. Please bring adequate blank checks.

If you must expedite the passport process, an expedited process fee is $60.00 per application and $15.45 for overnight express mail.

Estimated processing times for passports are four-to-six weeks for routine passport service or three weeks for expedited service.

In addition to the “Passport Outreach Program” program, the County Clerk’s passport office, at 10 Court Street, Morristown, is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday with Tuesday evening hours until 8:00 p.m. (but walk-ins must arrive by 7:00 p.m.).

For more passport information, including costs, call (973) 285-6161 click here.