December 1, 2024 Recent Legal News
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Maine v O'Donnell
Indicted
Dr. Peter O'Donnell of Yarmouth , Mine was indicted for sex trafficking. He had a medical office and a massage parlor. The police raided both.
Michigan v Marar
Sentenced
Dr. Omar Marar of Saginaw lost his cool in the over over malfunctioning equipment and said he would get his bomb and blow everyone up. Of course it was not true but in this day and age he was arrested and now sentenced to probation. He should never have been tried.
US v Patel
Guilty
Dr. Rajesh Patel who worked at the VA in Decatur Georgia, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a patient under his care. He was charged with groping four female patients. He was acquitted of three but found guilty of the fourth.
US v Maassen
Indicted
Twelve people including Dr. Martin Maassen of Lafayette, Indiana, have been indicted of conspiracy to traffic oxycodone.
Louisiana v Hickey
Indicted
Dr. Keith Hickey of Slidell, Louisiana, was indicted on charges of sexual battery. A woman accused him of touching her while making inappropriate comments during an examination. Then another came forward.
US v Fadanelli
Indicted
Rebecca Fadanelli of Stoughton, Massachusetts, was indicted for illegally importing drugs and dispensing a counterfeit drug. She owns a skin spa where she was accused of selling fake Botox, Sculptra and Juvederm that she illegally obtained fro China and Brazil.
Florida v Garcia
Indicted
Dr. Dairon Garcia of South Florida was indicted for illegally importing date rape drug GBL from France.
Florida v Smith
Indicted
Dr. Mark Smith of Jacksonville, Florida, was indicted on looting donations from Swannanoa which is about ten miles fro Ashville, North Carolina. He says he was returning to a donation center started by himself and others.
New York v Paduch
Sentenced
Dr. Darius Paduch, a urologist in New York City, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting multiple patients. He has maintained his innocence.
Texas v Ortiz, Jr.
Sentenced
Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz Jr., an anesthesiologist in Dallas, was sentenced to 190 years in prison for injecting nerve-blocking agents into IV bags at a surgical center. He was convicted of this as well as causing the death of a coworker. Top
US v Healthcare Associates of Texas
Guilty
A federal jury convicted the company of fraud for submitting false records to Medicare for services provided by unlicensed providers and charging inflated rates. This is a qui tam case and the former executive will get multi million dollars for bringing it.
US v Brandon Eye Associates
Settlement
The Florida medical practice agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle allegations that they billed for transcranial ultrasounds via an illegal kickback arrangement.
US v University of Colorado Health
Settlement
UC Health agreed to pay $23 million to settle allegations that they upcoded their ED visits to represent the highest CPT code even though it was not necessary. This was a qui tam case and the whistleblower will get just over $3 million.
US v Panezai
Sentenced
Dr. Fazal Panezai, cardiologist from Marlboro, New Jersey, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1.9 million. He plead guilty to billing for patient visits that did not happen or did not take as long as he claimed.
US v Smith
Settlement
Dr. Adam Smith, a plastic surgeon in Sioux City, Iowa, agreed to pay about $200,000 to settle allegations that he billed for medically unnecessary procedures or said they were more complicated than they actually were.
US v Heritage Pharmaceuticals, Apotex
Settlement
The generic drug manufacturers agreed to pay $49.1 million to settle allegations that they inflated and manipulated drug prices and reduced competition. Apotex will pay $39.1 million and Heritage the rest.
US v Fishberger
Guilty
Dr. Kenneth Fishberger of East Setauket, New York, plead guilty to healthcare fraud. He received kickbacks for agreeing to order unnecessary transcranial doppler studies. He was paid about $100 per test.
US v Inova
Settlement
The Northern Virginia healthcare provider who talks about DEI on their website settled a fraud claim with the feds. They admitted to submitting claims to Medicaid that had been modified fraudulently. They had agreed that the over $1.5 million in claims were false.
US v QOL Medical LLC, Cooper
Settlement
In a qui tam case the pharmaceutical company and its CEO Fredrick Cooper agreed to pay $47 million to settle allegations that they billed false claims by offering kickbacks of free tests to those who used their drug Sucraid. They provided physicians with free Carbon 13 breath tests and paid a lab to analyze these tests. The four former employees who originally were the plaintiffs will get a total of $8 million.
California v Benzeevi
Sentenced
Yorai Benzeevi, the former Healthcare Conglomerate Associate CEO, plead no contest to multiple counts of conflict of interest regarding loans between he and Tulare/ Southern Inyo and their hospitals. He had already made complete restitution and so was given time served and community service time served. Top
Domski v Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Jury Verdict
Lisa Domski sued after she was let go for refusing to get Covid vaccine due to her religion. Blue Cross failed to contact her priest and said she could use her written statement. Then they refused her accommodation and was fired. She got $13 million which included $1.3 million in front pay, $1 million for pain and suffering, $315,000 in back pay and $10 million in punis.
Hoesch v Columbia River Fire and Rescue
Filed
William Hoesch was riding his bike and claims that the ambulance hit him causing significant injuries. The ambulance then transported him to a hospital for care and then billed him $1800 for the ride. He is suting for just under $1 million. Top
Doe v NuMalae Medical Center
Jury
In a verdict that should not stand the jury found for the plaintiff and awarded him $412 million, the largest malpractice verdict ever, for treating him for fatigue with invasive erectile dysfunction shots. The jurors found that fraud and negligent actions caused damages and that unconscionable conduct violated the Unfair Practices Act. Watch for a new trial. Top
West v Trinity Health Muskegon
Filed
Dr. Daniel West is suing his former employer for firing him after he reported a fellow physician for fraud of performing unnecessary surgeries. The cardiologist found that a fellow cardiologist was implanting pacemakers into people that they did not need and altering the records to cover up his misdeeds. He reported this to the hospital and states that they ordered him to destroy his report. He says he complied and then was fired. Hospitals like the money coming in and really do not care about where it comes from. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented.