OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Michigan doctor is accused of deliberately misdiagnosing patients with cancer and other conditions in order to commit health care fraud.
According to the criminal complaint against 48-year-old Farid Fata, the oncologist would give cancer drugs to patients unnecessarily or in inappropriate dosages.
He was arrested Tuesday in the alleged $35 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Fata owns and operates Michigan Hematology Oncology Centers (MHO) which has offices in Clarkston, Bloomfield Hills, Lapeer, Sterling Heights, Troy and Oak Park.
Doctors and nurses who worked with Fata told federal agents Fata often gave patients doses of medication they didn't need at toxic levels, treated them in office settings as opposed to hospitals and had what is referred to as "interns" or foreign doctors treat a high number of patients.
A nurse also testified that there were cases where Fata would continue to treat patients who had gone into remission with a "maintenance dose" of chemotherapy.
Fata is also accused of prescribing Xanax to patients who were nervous about their treatment.
A medical assistant said Fata told her to falsify records and would delay scans for patients at other facilities so he could do them through his own center.
READ: Criminal complaint against Farid Fata
Federal agents raided Fata's Oakland Township home Tuesday morning -- along with several medial facilities he's associated with in the Rochester/Clarkston.
Stay with Local 4 News and ClickOnDetroit.com for updates to this developing story.
Sketch of Farid Fata in court on Tuesday. Sketch done by Jerry Lemenu.
If you or someone you know may be a victim, you are urged to call the U.S. Attorney's office patient hotline at 1-888-702-0553.