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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Fraud (Health Care) |
Sentence: |
3 years probation |
Years Imprisoned: |
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Year Crime: |
2011 |
Year Convicted: |
2014 |
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Maryland - Federal Case |
County or Region of Crime: |
Baltimore |
City of Crime: |
Baltimore |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Reddy Vijay Annappareddy, Jigar Patel, Vipinkumar Patel, and Dr. Venkata Srinivas Mannava M.D. were codefendants wrongly convicted in 2014 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland of federal charges related to health care fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with a scheme to defraud Medicaid and Medicare by submitting false claims for prescription refills. Reddy Annappareddy, Vipinkumar Patel, and Jigar Patel.Vipinkumar were indicted by a federal grand jury on July 23, 2013. Patel pled guilty on August 19, 2014, but his sentencing was delayed. Jigar Patel pled guilty on August 20, 2014, and on January 15, 2015 he was sentenced to 13 months in prison, and 3 years of supervised release. Jigar served his sentence, and he was released from federal Bureau of Prison custody on February 19, 2016. Annappareddy's jury trial began on November 10, 2014, and after 18 days of trial, he was convicted on December 17, 2014. Annappareddy filed a motion for a new trial on December 22, 2014, and his sentencing was continued pending resolution of his new trial motion. On June 3, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge George Levi Russell III granted Annappareddy's motion for a new trial. On August 11, 2016 the U.S. Attorney's Office obtained a Second Superseding Indictment from the federal grand jury. On August 30, 2016 Annappareddy filed two motions to dismiss the case: 1) "MOTION to Dismiss This Case Because The Prosecutors Presented False Evidence And Arguments About The Purported Lack Of A Response To The [Grand] Jury 25, 2012 Email; and, 2) "MOTION to Dismiss This Case For The Prosecutors Intentionally Destroying Exculpatory Documents." On September 1, 2016 Judge Russell issued an "ORDER granting Defendant's 430 Motion to Dismiss the Second Superseding Indictment as to Reddy Vijay Annappareddy." The Patels filed motions to withdraw their guilty pleas. On March 8, 2017 The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss the indictments against Annappareddy and the Patels. On March 9, 2017 Judge Russell signed the "Order For Dismissal" of the indictment pending against Annappareddy and the Patels. Venkata Mannava was separately prosecuted. Mannava was arrested on October 31, 2011 at the pharmacy where he worked in Washington D.C., but it was one of a chain of pharmacies headquartered in Baltimore owned by Annappareddy. Mannava agreed to pled guilty on March 5, 2014 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland to federal charges of Dispensing Oxycodone through fraudulent prescriptions and Engaging in a scheme to defraud Medicade and other insurers. In exchange for agreeing to cooperate against Annappareddy and the Patels, Mannava was sentenced to serve three years probation. Based on the evidence that resulted in the dismissal of the charges against Annappareddy and the Patels, Mannava filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea to making a false statement, which the U.S. Attorney's Office didn't oppose. On April 26, 2017 that charge was dismissed. Mannava's conviction of Dispensing Oxycodone through fraudulent prescriptions was unaffected. A fifth defendant in the case, Ramakrishnan Guruvareddy, was charged via Information on April 2, 2014. He pled guilty on April 18, 2014 to charges related to his involvement in the scheme, and in exchange for agreeing to provide evidence against Annappareddy and the Patels he was sentenced on December 23, 2014 to 5 months probation by Judge Russell. On October 26, 2015 Judge Russell signed an Order Approving Satisfaction of Judgment by Ram Guruvareddy. As of September 10, 2017 Guruvareddy conviction remained. (USA v. Guruvareddy, No. 1:14-cr-00156-GLR (USDC MD)" |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
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Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
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Age When Released: |
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Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Indian |
Information Source 1: |
"Federal Jury Convicts Pharmacy Store Owner Of Health Care Fraud And Identity Theft, Press Release, U.S. Attorney's Office District of Maryland, December 15, 2014" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.dodig.mil/IGInformation/IGInformationReleases/rvijayaPR.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"This Was A Colossal Screw-Up': A Close Look At A Case Dismissed For Misconduct, By Carrie Johnson, Nevada Public Radio, May 6, 2017" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/06/526922555/this-was-a-colossal-screw-up-a-close-look-at-a-case-dismissed-for-misconduct |
Information Source 3: |
"Federal judge dismisses fraud case, blasts prosecutors' actions, By Jessica Anderson (Reporter), The Baltimore Sun, September 6, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-fraud-case-dismissed-20160906-story.html |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org