Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Michigan: Muslim doctor gets 45 years for poisoning 500+ victims, netting $35M in medicaid scheme

The Muslim Chemo Doc Called ‘Most Egregious Fraudster’ in U.S. History should have been facing manslaughter or murder charges. via Dr Farid Fata who scammed millions of cancer patients is jailed for 45 YEARS | Daily Mail Online.
A doctor who netted millions of dollars by putting more than 500 patients through unnecessary and grueling cancer treatments and then billing insurers has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Dr Farid Fata, who worked in suburban Detroit, Michigan, poisoned around 550 victims – many of whom did not actually have cancer – by giving them excessive chemotherapy and other treatments.

His actions wrecked his patients’ health, with many sustaining chronic health problems such as brittle bones and fried organs. Other victims lost their homes and jobs, and were forced into bankruptcy.
‘He preyed on our trust, our exhaustion, our fears,’ said Ellen Piligiam, whose late father, a doctor, was administered powerful drugs he didn’t need for a tumor in his shoulder.
Federal prosecutor Catherine Dick had asked for a 175-year prison sentence. ‘It is not mob justice. It is appropriate for this crime,’ the prosecutor told the judge, referring to the extraordinary request.
However, Fata’s defense team had sought 25 years for the disgraced doctor, saying he had been abandoned by his family – who are no longer in the U.S. – and had not been visited since his arrest.
Outside court, many former patients were disappointed with the punishment, deeming it too short.
‘Prosecutors did a fantastic job – and he got 45 years. It’s a lifetime sentence for the rest of us,’ said Monica Flagg, 53, who was treated for cancer before doctors examining a broken leg found she had no cancer. ‘What about all the grave markers out there that all the victims’ families have to look at?
Liz Lupo, meanwhile, held a picture of her mother, Marianne Lupo, who died in 2007 at age 62.
She believes Fata’s treatments hastened her death. ‘It’s not justice at all,’ Lupo said.
Another woman tearfully told ClickOnDetroit.com: ‘It just wasn’t enough.’
The government identified 553 victims of Fata’s crimes, including one man who lost both of his legs due to excessive treatment. Meanwhile, Medicare and insurance firms paid out millions.
Fata’s clinic, Michigan Hematology Oncology, had seven offices in the Detroit area and a related business that performed tests to look for cancer. Testifying for the government, two experts from Harvard medical school said they were troubled after looking at a small portion of patient files.
The court heard Fata administered ‘stunning’ doses of a powerful, expensive drug to his patients, exposing them to life-threatening infections. According to Dr Dan Longo, a Harvard medical professor, a drug called Rituximab can weaken the immune system if overused on patients.
It’s typically given eight times for aggressive lymphoma.
One patient got it 94 times. Another got it 76 times.
There were more than 9,000 unnecessary infusions or injections.
‘There is an aggressive approach to treating cancer,’ said Dr Longo.
‘This was beyond. This was over the top. It’s a stunning number of injections of that drug.’
According to federal prosecutors, Dr. Fata, of Oakland Township, ‘systematically defrauded Medicare by submitting false claims for services that were medically unnecessary.’ He apparently defrauded the federally funded healthcare program out of roughly $35million over a two-year period.
Fata will get credit for about two years served in custody since his arrest in 2013.
His stay in the federal prison system also could be shortened with good behavior

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