(Image source from: Detroit News)

An Indian American doctor charged in one of the biggest healthcare fraud cases in the United States was freed on a record USD 7 million bond.

Involving a conspiracy worth a whopping USD 464 million, Rajendra Bothra, a padma Shri awardee, along with five other doctors were charged in the alleged fraud, which, the U.S. government, said fueled the opioid epidemic.

The U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy granted the bond for him in spite of the government's concern that the doctor has hidden money that could bankroll an escape to India.

Bothra, of Bloomfield Hills, who will be freed on home confinement and tracked by a GPS tether, must identify all possessions under penalty of perjury, according to Detroit news report.

According to report, being the lead suspect in one of the largest healthcare fraud lawsuits in the U.S. history, he must liquidate USD 8.5 million retirement account to cover the bond, the process that could take three days.

Against concerns that the family might take flight while Bothra awaits trial in July, his spouse and daughter will surrender their passports.

Bothra is one of the high-profile Indian American Party fundraisers and activists. He has investments and many siblings in India.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, Bothra hosted major fundraisers for former president George HW Bush and other senior Republican lawmakers.

Besides his professional achievements in the field of medicine in the U.S., Bothra has been progressive in working for the poverty-stricken and sick in India.

Leaving his general surgery practice in Warren, Bothra for about eight weeks annually travels to India at his own costs in order to work with Indian organizations to increase awareness of AIDS/HIV, drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction.

He holds regular lecture tours in India to educate professionals and lay audiences on health issues. Bothra has worked with the Nargis Dutt Foundation to produce two documentaries, one on AIDS and another on tobacco abuse.

He was as well praised by Indian authorities for being instrumental in gifting American medical equipment to Indian hospitals and assisting in the rebuilding of medical buildings of Maharashtra's Latur after a terrible earthquake.

In the meantime, prosecutors have been unable to pinpoint Bothra's net worth, which could be as high as USD 35 million.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandy McMillion noted that Bothra owns a real-estate company that owns 22 properties across Metro Detroit, including $2.8 million worth of condominiums and commercial buildings in downtown Royal Oak.

Prosecutors are making an effort to identify whether the possessions were acquired with proceeds from the alleged criminal act.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider attended the brief court hearing on Tuesday and said his team of prosecutors will meet and decide whether to appeal the bond.

Bothra, jailed since earlier this month when he was charged alongside five others, is charged with fueling the nation's opioid epidemic, cheating Medicare and subjecting patients to unnecessary, aching back injections.

-Sowmya Sangam