Neurosurgeon Pleads Guilty to Fraud That Harmed Patients

A Detroit neurosurgeon has pleaded guilty in two separate criminal cases related to his involvement in a scheme to defraud federal healthcare programs and private insurers of more than $11 million dollars by performing medically unnecessary procedures that resulted in harm to his patients, states a May 22, 2015, news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to DOJ, the neurosurgeon admitted that he profited by convincing patients to undergo spinal fusion surgeries with instrumentation (i.e., specific medical implants designed to stabilize and strengthen the spine), which he never rendered. He also admitted that his operative reports and treatment records contained false statements about the procedures performed and the instrumentation used and that on occasion, he would implant cortical bone dowels, then fraudulently bill public and private healthcare programs for instrumentation.