A federal jury has found Memphis physician Dr. Sanjeev Kumar guilty of multiple federal crimes tied to unsafe medical device practices and fraudulent billing, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The jury delivered its verdict on January 8, 2026, after a three-and-a-half-week trial and five days of deliberations.
Kumar was convicted of:
18 counts of adulteration of medical devices
16 counts of misbranding medical devices
6 counts of health care fraud
Federal prosecutors said the case centered on Kumar’s medical practice in Memphis and his use of medical devices during procedures billed to Medicare and Medicaid.
The Department of Justice stated that from 2019 through 2024, Kumar carried out unnecessary medical procedures and repeatedly used medical devices in ways that violated federal standards.
According to federal authorities, these actions placed patients at risk of infection while also generating improper payments from government health programs.
United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee said the verdict reflects the serious consequences of health care fraud, especially when it involves medical devices used on patients.
Federal officials said Kumar worked as a gynecologic oncologist and operated the Poplar Avenue Clinic in Memphis.
Between September 2019 and April 2024, prosecutors said he performed more than 15,000 hysteroscopy procedures on 5,559 Medicare and Medicaid patients.
A hysteroscopy is a procedure that uses a scope to examine the uterus. It is often paired with a biopsy to help diagnose conditions such as endometrial cancer.
The Justice Department said the trial evidence showed Kumar failed to properly disinfect reusable devices between patients and repeatedly reused single-use tools.
Prosecutors said he purchased fewer than 200 new single-use hysteroscopes during the period covered in the case. Authorities also stated that some single-use graspers purchased in 2019 were still being used in 2024.
Federal officials described the equipment as decades old in some cases and said the unsafe handling of these devices formed the basis for the adulteration and misbranding charges.
According to the Justice Department, Kumar billed more than $41 million for hysteroscopy with biopsy procedures.
Authorities said he personally received more than $4.8 million from Medicare and Medicaid, not including payments from private insurance.
The Justice Department credited several agencies with investigating the case, including:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG)
FDA Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI)
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Federal authorities also stated that the investigation was initiated by the Tennessee Attorney General.
Kumar is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9, 2026, before Chief U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman.
According to the Justice Department, he faces:
Up to 10 years in prison per health care fraud count
Up to three years in prison per count for adulteration and misbranding of medical devices
The Justice Department identified Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lynn Crum, Scott Smith, and Sarah Pazar Williams as the prosecutors who handled the case.