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TRENTON
- Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal
Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced
that an Englewood doctor whose medical office
is in Jersey City has been arrested and
charged with attempting to hire men to kill
his wife, his lover and a business partner.
According
to Director Taylor, Dr. Ajit Jayaram, 63,
of Englewood, a licensed physician whose
internal medicine practice is at 295 Martin
Luther King Drive in Jersey City, is charged
with three counts of first-degree attempted
murder and three counts of first-degree
conspiracy to commit murder.
Jayaram
was initially arrested on Oct. 12, 2010.
During the course of a Medicaid fraud investigation
called Operation MedScam, conducted by the
Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor’s
Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Jersey
City Police Department’s Special Investigation
Unit, the investigating agencies obtained
information that Jayaram had tried to hire
an acquaintance to kill two people.
Jayaram
was charged in October with offering to
pay the man to kill his lover, Radha Ramaswamy,
and a pharmacist, Ahmed Mukhtar. Jayaram
owes Ramaswamy $250,000 and allegedly was
also concerned about his wife learning of
his affair with her. Jayaram had a prior
failed business relationship with Mukhtar
and the two men had ongoing disputes. The
Attorney General’s Office requested
that the Hudson County Prosecutor’s
Office initially handle those charges in
order to maintain confidentiality related
to the ongoing Medicaid fraud investigation.
While
incarcerated in the Hudson County Jail on
those charges, Jayaram allegedly attempted
to hire another individual to kill his wife,
Sarasavani Jayaram. Dr. Jayaram allegedly
believed that if his wife found out about
his affair, she would leave him and take
all of his money. He was charged by complaint
on April 13 in connection with that alleged
plot.
Jayaram
remains in the Hudson County Jail with bail
set at $2.5 million. The case is now being
prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Debra
A. Conrad of the Division of Criminal Justice.
Each attempted murder and conspiracy charge
carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison.
These
individuals are assigned to the investigation
for the OIFP Medicaid Fraud Control Unit:
Detective Kevin Gannon, Sgt. Frederick Weidman,
Deputy Attorney General Debra A. Conrad
and Deputy Attorney General Erik Daab, Chief
of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
The following members of the Jersey City
Police Department’s Special Investigation
Unit are assigned to the investigation,
under the supervision of Chief Thomas Comey:
Lt. Fred Younger, Sgt. Anthony Musante,
Sgt. Ed Nestor, Detective Wael Shahid, Detective
Jeff Guilfoyle, Detective Vincent Disbrow,
Police Officer Alex Torres, Police Officer
Chris Dolan, Police Officer Eamon Nally,
Police Officer Joseph Anzivino and Detective
Erik Infantes.
Attorney
General Dow thanked Assistant Prosecutor
Michael D’Andrea and other members
of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s
Office under the supervision of Prosecutor
Edward J. De Fazio for their valuable assistance.
The
complaints are merely accusations and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Because the charges are indictable
offenses, they will be presented to a state
grand jury for potential indictment.
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