Emphasizing fairness in sentencing and opportunities for rehabilitation, President Joe Biden, on December 12, 2024, commuted the sentences of 1,500 individuals serving lengthy jail time. Among those, five Indian Americans, Dr. Meera Sachdeva, Babubhai Patel, Krishna Mote, and Vikram Dutta, Dr. Shelinder Aggarwal were granted clemency.
In a statement, President Biden noted “I am also commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who are serving long prison sentences – many of whom would receive lower sentences if charged under today’s laws, policies, and practices,” adding “These commutation recipients, who were placed on home confinement during the COVID pandemic, have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.”
Dr. Sachdeva, 50, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 for defrauding Medicare by submitting false chemotherapy claims, leading to an $8.2 million loss. She was fined $250,000 and ordered to forfeit $6 million and multiple properties.
Pharmacist Patel received a 17-year sentence for orchestrating a $57 million healthcare fraud in Detroit, involving kickbacks for false prescriptions and misuse of Medicare/Medicaid information. He was ordered to pay $18.8 million in restitution.
Mote, 43, was sentenced to 20 years for leading a Pennsylvania drug network, distributing large quantities of cocaine and crack cocaine between 2005 and 2007.
Dutta, a perfume store owner near the U.S.-Mexico border, was sentenced to nearly 20 years for laundering millions for a Mexican drug cartel, using his business to transfer illicit drug money.
Dr. Aggarwal, from Alabama, known as “a pill mill doctor,” pleaded guilty for illegally prescribing opioids, and health care fraud. He was sentenced in 2017 for 15 years in prison.
