$150 Million Healthcare Scheme Put Thousands at Risk

What if you were scheduled to have surgery and someone other than your doctor was operating on you? Well, that’s what happened to thousands of individuals in Los Angeles who were patients of Dr. Munir Uwaydah. And the other sad part about it, he used their health issues as a way to milk millions from the insurance companies. 

Dr. Munir Uwaydah and several of his associates were charged for an elaborate medical insurance scheme that left patients with major health problems. According to reports, Dr. Uwaydah and his team lead a $150 million scheme that spanned a decade. The scheme included charging patients unnecessary fees for medications, billing two-minute examinations as one hour, false MRI results and medical records to justify operations to the insurance companies.

Prosecutors say that the group of fifteen defendants paid marketers and worker’s compensation attorneys up to $10,000 a month in kickbacks to funnel new patients to the clinic. They were even paid bonuses if the new patients were up for surgery and extra cash if they actually had the surgery. In some instances, patients were even bribed with money if they decided to back out of the surgery.

Investigation into the case began around 2010 after Dr. Uwaydah, 49, was suspected in the 2008 strangling of model and ex-girlfriend, Juliana Redding. However, Uwaydah denied involvement in the killing and was never charged. However, his former personal assistant and office manager were charged but acquitted of murder.

Uwaydah was recently arrested in Germany on Sept. 9 and is awaiting extradition, prosecutors said. Most of the defendants in the fraud case have bails set up to $20 million.