Hadn't seen this case talked about much around these parts. People should probably know a bit about it, especially as the residency application cycle starts up again.
There's more at the link (including the hospital owners investing in a doomed Caribbean school and then plotting to make that hospital a clerkship site for the school, along with reported other residents at the program paying their way to enter the FM residency).
Are people really this desperate that they're having their family pay $400,000 in bribes to ensure a residency position for themselves?
The particular program is still around, hasn't been sited/placed on probation, and I believe is accepting FM residents for the upcoming cycle. Applicants beware.
Pay-to-play residency lawsuit adds to Pontiac General woes
" The owners of for-profit Pontiac General Hospital allegedly required the parents of medical school graduate Varun Chopra to make $400,000 in payments in exchange for accepting the 31-year-old into the hospital's family medicine residency program during the fall of 2016, according to a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Satish and Poonam Chopra.
Satish Chopra, an architect from Brampton, Ontario, said in court documents that he made the $400,000 payment to Pontiac General officials in three checks on Sept. 19 and Sept 20 because he was told by hospital officials and representatives it was the only way his son, now 33, could gain entrance into the residency program. The parents expressed shock at the demand, but wrote the checks, court records show.
Their lawsuit is one of a number of challenges the hospital and its owners are facing as they deal with an aging building, infrastructure and maintenance problems, charges of employee discrimination, accreditation citations, surprise state health inspections as they invest millions to turn around the hospital.
The hospital's CEO and co-owner, Sanyam Sharma, issued a signed residency contract to Chopra the same date as the final check, Sept. 20, a fact that the hospital doesn't dispute. Most unusual, the signed residency agreement also was completed before Chopra had applied to the Electronic Residency Application Service, an established first step that provides a hospital necessary documents to evaluate qualifications of a potential resident.
Sharma said in a 2017 deposition that he was told by other hospital officials the $400,000 was a "donation" and not a quid pro quo payment that allowed Chopra to enter the hospital's 16-physician family medicine residency program.
"One was a donation and one was an acceptance into the program," Sharma said in his deposition. "They're completely separate."
Several national medical education experts told Crain's they have never heard of a documented case where a hospital charged a medical school graduate a fee to enter a residency program.
While not technically illegal, paying fees for residency slots violates many professional medical standards. To become selected as a resident, student doctors apply early each year through what is called the "Match," which is governed by the National Residency Matching Program. Graduates are selected in March and typically start their residency in June.
Not in dispute is that Chopra was approved for residency by Pontiac General in September after his parents paid $400,000 and was to have started his residency on Nov. 1, 2016, after he secured a J-1 visa and a medical license from the state of Michigan.
...
In his deposition, Sanyam Sharma was asked why the Chopras would donate money to a for-profit hospital that they had no connection with and had never seen before. Donations are not tax-deductible to for-profit hospitals.
"There are lots of reasons people donate money," he said, adding that one reason is "they want to see the hospital succeed."
Satish Chopra said in court filings he learned of the possibility of paying for a residency slot from Paraminder Minhas, who also lives in Brampton, Ontario. Chopra said Minhas told him he gave the hospital a donation for his two children to enter Pontiac General's residency program. Crain's could not reach Minhas, but a source familiar with the residency program said Minhas' son, Dijot, is a current resident. Minhas' daughter, Gurman, completed her residency in 2016 and is a family practice doctor.
Court documents provided by Pontiac General show that Minhas donated $99,000 on March 29, 2016, and $100,000 on May 1, 2016. During 2016 and 2017, the hospital collected $679,000 in donations in 36 separate payments. The three Chopra donations totaling $400,000 were not listed.
In a sworn affidavit dated March 27, 2017, Minhas acknowledged making a $250,000 donation to the hospital, but he denied that the money was to secure residency spots for his two children. He said he had made three separate payments to the hospital by the end of summer of 2016."
There's more at the link (including the hospital owners investing in a doomed Caribbean school and then plotting to make that hospital a clerkship site for the school, along with reported other residents at the program paying their way to enter the FM residency).
Are people really this desperate that they're having their family pay $400,000 in bribes to ensure a residency position for themselves?
The particular program is still around, hasn't been sited/placed on probation, and I believe is accepting FM residents for the upcoming cycle. Applicants beware.
Pay-to-play residency lawsuit adds to Pontiac General woes
" The owners of for-profit Pontiac General Hospital allegedly required the parents of medical school graduate Varun Chopra to make $400,000 in payments in exchange for accepting the 31-year-old into the hospital's family medicine residency program during the fall of 2016, according to a breach of contract lawsuit filed by Satish and Poonam Chopra.
Satish Chopra, an architect from Brampton, Ontario, said in court documents that he made the $400,000 payment to Pontiac General officials in three checks on Sept. 19 and Sept 20 because he was told by hospital officials and representatives it was the only way his son, now 33, could gain entrance into the residency program. The parents expressed shock at the demand, but wrote the checks, court records show.
Their lawsuit is one of a number of challenges the hospital and its owners are facing as they deal with an aging building, infrastructure and maintenance problems, charges of employee discrimination, accreditation citations, surprise state health inspections as they invest millions to turn around the hospital.
The hospital's CEO and co-owner, Sanyam Sharma, issued a signed residency contract to Chopra the same date as the final check, Sept. 20, a fact that the hospital doesn't dispute. Most unusual, the signed residency agreement also was completed before Chopra had applied to the Electronic Residency Application Service, an established first step that provides a hospital necessary documents to evaluate qualifications of a potential resident.
Sharma said in a 2017 deposition that he was told by other hospital officials the $400,000 was a "donation" and not a quid pro quo payment that allowed Chopra to enter the hospital's 16-physician family medicine residency program.
"One was a donation and one was an acceptance into the program," Sharma said in his deposition. "They're completely separate."
Several national medical education experts told Crain's they have never heard of a documented case where a hospital charged a medical school graduate a fee to enter a residency program.
While not technically illegal, paying fees for residency slots violates many professional medical standards. To become selected as a resident, student doctors apply early each year through what is called the "Match," which is governed by the National Residency Matching Program. Graduates are selected in March and typically start their residency in June.
Not in dispute is that Chopra was approved for residency by Pontiac General in September after his parents paid $400,000 and was to have started his residency on Nov. 1, 2016, after he secured a J-1 visa and a medical license from the state of Michigan.
...
In his deposition, Sanyam Sharma was asked why the Chopras would donate money to a for-profit hospital that they had no connection with and had never seen before. Donations are not tax-deductible to for-profit hospitals.
"There are lots of reasons people donate money," he said, adding that one reason is "they want to see the hospital succeed."
Satish Chopra said in court filings he learned of the possibility of paying for a residency slot from Paraminder Minhas, who also lives in Brampton, Ontario. Chopra said Minhas told him he gave the hospital a donation for his two children to enter Pontiac General's residency program. Crain's could not reach Minhas, but a source familiar with the residency program said Minhas' son, Dijot, is a current resident. Minhas' daughter, Gurman, completed her residency in 2016 and is a family practice doctor.
Court documents provided by Pontiac General show that Minhas donated $99,000 on March 29, 2016, and $100,000 on May 1, 2016. During 2016 and 2017, the hospital collected $679,000 in donations in 36 separate payments. The three Chopra donations totaling $400,000 were not listed.
In a sworn affidavit dated March 27, 2017, Minhas acknowledged making a $250,000 donation to the hospital, but he denied that the money was to secure residency spots for his two children. He said he had made three separate payments to the hospital by the end of summer of 2016."
Last edited:
