Who is Tonmoy Sharma? The Indian-origin psychiatrist at the center of a $149-million US healthcare fraud

Tonmoy Sharma, a psychiatrist and entrepreneur of Indian origin, has found himself at the center of a massive healthcare fraud case in the United States. On May 29, Sharma was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport following an eight-count federal grand jury indictment that accuses him of submitting over $149 million in fraudulent insurance claims and paying more than $21 million in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals.




According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Sharma's now-defunct company, Sovereign Health Group, enrolled patients in insurance plans without their consent, billed for unauthorized lab tests, and misrepresented financial information to exploit high out-of-network insurance rates. “The founder and former CEO…was arrested…alleging he submitted more than $149 million in fraudulent claims…and paid more than $21 million in illegal kickbacks,” the federal statement said.

Who is Tonmoy Sharma?

Tonmoy Sharma was born in Guwahati, Assam, and is the eldest son of the late Phani Sharma, a well-known sports organiser and owner of several cultural landmarks in Assam, including the Anuradha, Rupayan, and Anupama cinema halls. Raised in an intellectually vibrant and affluent household, Sharma’s path was marked by academic success and early medical ambition. He earned his MBBS degree from Dibrugarh Medical College in 1987 and interned at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.

He soon took his expertise abroad, obtaining a medical license from the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom in 1988. Sharma went on to specialize in psychiatry and made his mark in research, particularly in the areas of brain function, cognition, and behavioral studies in mental illnesses. However, several reports also suggest that his medical license was revoked in the UK in 2008 for dishonest and unprofessional conduct.

His work brought him to the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen and eventually founded Sovereign Health Group—a company that, for a time, was considered a pioneer in dual-diagnosis addiction treatment.

In addition to his clinical work, Sharma is also an author. His books, listed on Amazon, cover Schizophrenia and mental health in detail. He has also authored over 200 peer-reviewed articles.

Regarding his wife and family, there is no publicly available information about Tonmoy Sharma’s marital status, wife, or immediate family members, such as children or siblings, beyond his late father.