The Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, Reagan Fondren, announced the arrest of Tennessee gynecologist Sanjeev Kumar, who was charged with numerous offenses. Dr. Kumar, 44, was charged with enticing and inducing four victims to travel interstate to engage in illegal sexual activity, adulteration of medical devices, misbranding of medical devices, and healthcare fraud. In total, Kumar was indicted on 23 counts.
This case is being investigated by the United States HHS-OIG, the United States Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).
Acting U.S. Attorney Fondren explained the indictment, showing the claims that from around September 2019 and up to at least June 2024, Dr. Kumar convinced some patients to travel beyond state lines and “subjected” them to sexual acts.
The indictment alleges the gynecologist “enticed and induced four victims to travel interstate to his medical offices in Memphis, Tennessee, at least in part for the purpose of subjecting them to a sexual activity for which he could be charged.”
The criminal offense of subjecting patients to sexual activity is in violation of the Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-13-503, which describes these charges as rape and a Class B felony when “sexual penetration is accomplished by fraud.”
The indictment accuses Kumar of tricking his alleged sexually abused patients, all women, by conducting “unnecessary gynecologic procedures with medical devices that he held under insanitary conditions and reused on patients when they were required to be disposed of or properly reprocessed.” Kumar is charged with allegedly reusing these single-use medical devices more than once, or “improperly” reprocessing these devices and using them on unwitting women, which he “inserted the devices into their vaginas.”
In addition to these charges, the doctor is accused of submitting claims to Medicare and Medicaid as if the procedures were medically required and also as if the medical devices used were either new or “properly” reprocessed for every medical procedure.
In a release to the public, Acting U.S. Attorney Fondren said: “Kumar was consistently the top-paid provider in Tennessee for Medicare and Medicaid for hysteroscopy biopsy services, and he profited substantially from these criminal acts. The allegations indicate that Kumar acted as a predator in a white coat and used the cover of conducting medical examinations to put his patients at risk and enrich himself.”
The actions of Dr. Kumar, said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office, were “abusive” and took place over five years. Special Agent Carrico said this means that there may be many more victims unaware they had been mistreated.
“This doctor put profit ahead of patients,” said Special Agent Carrico, in a statement. “We want you to know FBI victim specialists, special agents, and analysts investigating this case are here for each and every one of you, and we are your advocates. It is important to remember nothing Dr. Kumar has done was, or ever will be, your fault. We see time and time again that voices matter, and those who have stepped forward have empowered others to do the same. If you have any information concerning this case, or if you believe you are a victim or may have been affected by these alleged crimes, please visit www.fbi.gov/KumarVictims and complete the questionnaire so that we can contact you. Your responses are voluntary but would be useful in the federal investigation and would enable us to serve you as a victim.”
If Kumar is convicted of all 23 counts, he could face up to 307 years in federal prison, without any chance of parole.
