Psychiatrist Reaches Civil Settlement of $360,000 to Resolve Allegations of False Claims to Federal Health Care Programs

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and a Missouri psychiatrist have reached a $360,000 civil settlement that will resolve False Claims Act (FCA) allegations, U.S. Attorney Thomas C Albus announced Monday.

The settlement resolves allegations that from Jan. 1, 2019, through May 31, 2024, Dr. Shazia Malik falsely indicated to both Medicare and Missouri Medicaid that she provided face-to-face psychotherapy to patients, including by submitting false claims for payment for services when she was out of town and for services that were provided by other practitioners. Dr. Malik was employed at Behavioral Health Services LLC which was owned and operated Psych Care Consultants in St. Louis, Missouri.

The settlement with Dr. Malik consists of $155,000 in restitution to Medicare and $25,000 to Missouri Medicaid. The restitution amount is doubled under the FCA.

The civil settlement contains no admission of liability. In December of 2025, Dr. Shazia Malik pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements related to health care matters.

"Health care professionals who knowingly submit false claims to federal health care programs undermine the financial integrity of those taxpayer-funded programs," stated Special Agent in Charge Linda T. Hanley of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). "Today's settlement reflects HHS-OIG's commitment to ensuring Medicare and Medicaid are billed only for services actually provided and to continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect the well-being of patients and to safeguard public funds."

Dr. Malik's brother, Modh Azfar Malik, was part-owner of Behavioral Health Services. In July of 2025, he entered a civil settlement resolving similar conduct and paid $501,556. In April of 2025, he pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a federal health care program. In January, his medical license was revoked for four years as part of a settlement with the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts.

This investigation was a result of the combined work of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, HHS-OIG Office of Investigations, the Missouri Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the FBI.