Asim A. Hameedi, M.D.; Decision and Order, 21715 [2023-07507]

Agencies

• Drug Enforcement Administration
• Department of Justice

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 21715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07507]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration


Asim A. Hameedi, M.D.; Decision and Order

    On May 19, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA or 
Government) issued an Order to Show Cause (OSC) to Asim A. Hameedi, 
M.D. (Registrant). Request for Final Agency Action (RFAA), Exhibit 
(RFAAX) A (OSC), at 1, 3. The OSC proposed the revocation of 
Registrant's Certificate of Registration No. BH6407919 at the 
registered address of 213-18 Union Turnpike, Bayside, New York 11364. 
Id. at 1-2. The OSC alleged that Registrant's registration should be 
revoked and any applications should be denied because Registrant has 
been ``excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs 
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(a).'' Id. at 1 (citing 21 U.S.C. 
824(a)(5)).
    The Agency makes the following findings of fact based on the 
uncontroverted evidence submitted by the Government in its RFAA dated 
January 3, 2023.1 2
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    \1\ The RFAA was submitted on February 3, 2022.
    \2\ Based on a Declaration from a DEA Diversion Investigator, 
the Agency finds that the Government's service of the OSC on 
Registrant was adequate. RFAAX B, at 2. Further, based on the 
Government's assertions in its RFAA, the Agency finds that more than 
thirty days have passed since Registrant was served with the OSC and 
Registrant has neither requested a hearing nor submitted a written 
statement. RFAA, at 2; see also 21 CFR 1301.43.
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Findings of Fact

    By letter dated February 28, 2022, the Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General notified Registrant 
that he was ``exclude[ed] from participation in all Federal health care 
programs, as defined in section 1128B(f) of the Social Security Act 
(Act), for a minimum period of 11 years.'' RFAAX C, at 1. The HHS 
letter explained that Registrant's exclusion was ``due to [his] felony 
conviction (as defined in section 1128(i) of the Act) in the United 
States District Court for the Southern District of New York, of a 
criminal offense related to fraud, theft, embezzlement, breach of 
fiduciary responsibility, or other financial misconduct, in connection 
with the delivery of a health care item or service, or with respect to 
any act or omission in a health care program (other than Medicare and a 
State health care program) operated by, or financed in whole or in 
part, by any Federal, State or local government agency.'' Id. (citing 
42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(a)(3) \3\). Id. Registrant's exclusion went into 
effect on March 20, 2022. RFAAX D.
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    \3\ 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7(a)(3) provides that exclusion is mandatory 
where, as here, an individual has a felony conviction related to 
health care fraud.
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Discussion

    Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(5), the Attorney General is authorized 
to suspend or revoke a registration issued under section 823 of the 
Controlled Substances Act (CSA) ``upon a finding that the registrant . 
. . has been excluded (or directed to be excluded) from participation 
in a program pursuant to section 1320a-7(a) of Title 42.'' Here, the 
undisputed record evidence demonstrates that HHS mandatorily excluded 
Registrant from federal health care programs under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-
7(a)(3). RFAAX C, at 1. Accordingly, the Agency will sustain the 
Government's allegation that Registrant has been excluded from 
participation in a program pursuant to section 1320a-7(a) of Title 42 
and find that the Government has established that a ground exists upon 
which a registration could be revoked pursuant to 21 U.S.C. 824(a)(5).

Sanction

    Where, as here, the Government has established grounds to revoke 
Registrant's registration, the burden shifts to the registrant to show 
why he can be entrusted with the responsibility carried by a 
registration. Garret Howard Smith, M.D., 83 FR 18,882, 18,910 (2018). 
When a registrant has committed acts inconsistent with the public 
interest, he must both accept responsibility and demonstrate that he 
has undertaken corrective measures. Holiday CVS, L.L.C., dba CVS 
Pharmacy Nos 219 and 5195, 77 FR 62,316, 62,339 (2012) (internal 
quotations omitted). Trust is necessarily a fact-dependent 
determination based on individual circumstances; therefore, the Agency 
looks at factors such as the acceptance of responsibility, the 
credibility of that acceptance as it relates to the probability of 
repeat violations or behavior, the nature of the misconduct that forms 
the basis for sanction, and the Agency's interest in deterring similar 
acts. See, e.g., Robert Wayne Locklear, M.D., 86 FR 33,738, 33,746 
(2021).
    Here, Registrant did not request a hearing, submit a corrective 
action plan, respond to the OSC, or otherwise avail himself of the 
opportunity to refute the Government's case. As such, Registrant has 
made no representations as to his future compliance with the CSA nor 
demonstrated that he can be entrusted with registration. Where, in 
section 824(a)(5) cases, the registrant offers no mitigating evidence 
upon which the Administrator can analyze the facts, the Agency has 
consistently held that revocation is warranted. Washington Bryan, M.D., 
86 FR 71,924, 71,926 (2021).
    The evidence presented by the Government clearly shows that 
Registrant has been mandatorily excluded from participation in federal 
health care programs. Accordingly, the Agency will order the revocation 
of Registrant's registration.

Order

    Pursuant to 28 CFR 0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 
U.S.C. 824(a), I hereby revoke DEA Certificate of Registration No. 
BH6407919 issued to Asim A. Hameedi, M.D. Further, pursuant to 28 CFR 
0.100(b) and the authority vested in me by 21 U.S.C. 823(g)(1) 
(formerly 823(f)), I hereby deny any pending application to renew or 
modify this registration, as well as any other pending application of 
Asim A. Hameedi, M.D., for registration in New York. This Order is 
effective May 11, 2023.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Drug Enforcement Administration was signed on 
April 4, 2023, by Administrator Anne Milgram. That document with the 
original signature and date is maintained by DEA. For administrative 
purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the 
Federal Register, the undersigned DEA Federal Register Liaison Officer 
has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic 
format for publication, as an official document of DEA. This 
administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this 
document upon publication in the Federal Register.

Heather Achbach,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Drug Enforcement Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-07507 Filed 4-10-23; 8:45 am]
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