BANGOR (AP) – An Aroostook County physician who pleaded guilty to obstructing an investigation and falsifying patient records is going to prison for five months.

Dr. Osama El-Sayed Abdella El-Silimy was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to five months in prison and five months of home confinement, followed by three years of probation. El-Silimy also was ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.

El-Silimy, 61, pleaded guilty to making false statements, obstruction of a criminal investigation and using false writing in connection with the delivery of health care services.

His lawyer, Jay McCloskey, said the doctor panicked after being questioned by the FBI shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

El-Silimy, a British citizen born in Egypt, apologized to the judge for his actions but defended the care given to his patients. “I’m a good doctor and I’m a fine surgeon,” he said. “I’ve never given anything but the best to my patients.”

He has practiced in the United States since 1999, when he opened his Aroostook County E.N.T. Clinic in Caribou. His medical license will now be reviewed by state officials. The effect of the conviction on El-Silimy’s visa status has not been determined.