November 18, 2024
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Doctor pleads guilty to federal charges

BANGOR – An Aroostook County doctor pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to three counts listed in a 118-count indictment. The remaining counts are to be dismissed, according to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

Dr. Osama El-Sayed Abdella El-Silimy, 60, of Caribou pleaded guilty as an individual and on behalf of his business, the Aroostook County E.N.T. Clinic, to obstruction of a criminal investigation of a health care fraud offense, making false statements to federal investigators and to making and using false writing in connection with the delivery of health care services.

A sentencing date has not been set.

In exchange for the guilty pleas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend that El- Silimy be sentenced to between 10 and 16 months in prison, that he be fined no more than $30,000 and that the clinic be fined no more than $112,000.

The maximum penalty on each count is imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of up to $250,000 for the doctor and a fine of up to $500,000 for the clinic.

El-Silimy, a British citizen who was born in Egypt, will remain free until his sentencing on $200,000 bail, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock ruled Monday.

The doctor received his medical education at the Royal College of Surgeons in Scotland and has practiced in the United States since 1999, when he opened his clinic in Caribou.

Correction: Clarification
Stories about federal charges against Dr. Osama El-Silimy and his Aroostook E.N.T. Clinic published in the State section on Saturday and Monday require clarification. El-Silimy’s plea agreement with federal prosecutors includes a provision that he waives his right to appeal if the fines imposed at sentencing exceed those outlined in the federal sentencing guidelines: $30,000 for the doctor and $112,000 for the clinic.

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