[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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