Doctor Accused of Ordering Unnecessary Chemo & Profiting

This medical malpractice is especially egregious if it is, in fact, true.

U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox made the decision on Tuesday, August 13, that Dr. Farid Fata would be held on $9 million bond. The judge decided that Fata was a definite flight risk and that if he chose to do so he had the means of fleeing the country, even though he has no criminal history. He is accused of defrauding and misdiagnosing patients for his own gain. He has allegedly made $9.4 million mistreating patients in this way.

The Oakland County cancer Doctor had been practicing for years and has also been accused of Medicare fraud. According to the judge, Fata is not fit to practice medicine because he has proven himself to be a public threat. He has been put on house arrest until his trial is completed.

Fata is accused of misdiagnosing patients intentionally in order to order unnecessary tests and treatment such as chemotherapy. He would charge patients and Medicare for these treatments, getting rich in the process. The judge recognized just how appalling these actions were, agreeing with the federal prosecutor’s assertions that Fata having freedom and a medical license is a danger to the community. Cox wrote “The weight of the evidence against the Defendant is significant. This is not the typical type of health care fraud case where a health care provider is alleged to have over-billed for services actually performed or billed Medicare for services that were not actually performed. Rather, the Government alleges that Defendant has intentionally misdiagnosed patients with cancer and then actually provided them with unnecessary treatments that are essentially poison.”

Initially, a bond was set at $170,000, but the judge raised the amount of the bond after the government requested he do so and stated that they had uncovered evidence that Fata had even more assets.

Court documents show that since 2009 Fata is specifically accused of billing Medicare for over $150 million in services. Of that money, the government says that Fata kept $65 million in fees, but that the majority of the billings were fraudulent as the services were unnecessary.

But Fata’s attorney had argued for a bond of $25,000 and said that not only is there no evidence of Medicare fraud, but that the government’s claims that Fata has access to $9.4 million is not true. Since he claims that Fata does not have access to this kind of money, the attorney says that it is unlikely that Fata will be able to pay the bond.

While Dr. Fata does have the support of some of his previous patients, the accusations against him are truly horrifying. Allegedly he ordered chemotherapy for patients who were near death, and the unnecessary treatments decreased the quality of life for them during the few days or weeks that they had left. Some patients were prescribed chemo treatments even though their cancers were in remission.

Several patients have come forward to offer testimony on behalf of Fata, saying that they were once considered to be end-of-life patients but were saved by the chemo Fata ordered.

St. Louis Medical Malpractice Attorney

This medical malpractice is especially egregious if it is, in fact, true. The judge seems to think that there is enough reason to hold Fata on such a large bond until the matter is resolved.

If you or a family member has been harmed by medical malpractice in Missouri or Illinois, contact the Zevan and Davidson Law Firm. Our team of legal experts have a strong history of taking on even the most complex medical malpractice cases and getting results for our clients.

Call the Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314) 588-7200 to schedule a free consultation.