Home Scandal and Gossip $2.4M: Former Virginia doctor guilty of health care fraud, performed unnecessary hysterectomies

$2.4M: Former Virginia doctor guilty of health care fraud, performed unnecessary hysterectomies

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Javaid Perwaiz Chesapeake Virginia OB/GYN
Pictured, Javaid Perwaiz Chesapeake Virginia OB/GYN found guilty of insurance fraud and who had unperformed unnecessary operations on women.
Javaid Perwaiz Chesapeake Virginia OB/GYN
Pictured, Javaid Perwaiz Chesapeake Virginia OB/GYN found guilty of insurance fraud and who had unperformed unnecessary operations on women.

Javaid Perwaiz Chesapeake Virginia OB/GYN found guilty of health care fraud, performed unnecessary hysterectomies on women. Guilty of 52 fraud cases. 

A former Virginia OB/GYN who performed unnecessary surgeries on women — including hysterectomies — in an insurance fraud scheme was found guilty on 52 counts for his crimes and acquitted on 8 counts. 

Javaid Perwaiz, 70, a former long time Chesapeake obstetrician and gynecologist faces up to 465 years in prison when he is sentenced next spring the Washington Post reports.

Prosecutors said Perwaiz took advantage of his patients’ trust and ‘over years’ performed the unneeded surgeries and procedures to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and give pricey gifts to his employees and others.

The doctor who practiced in Hampton Roads, forced women into surgeries by telling them they had cancer and used broken equipment to perform procedures, according to the report.

At his three-week trial in federal court, victims of Perwaiz testified how he performed hysterectomies and other permanent, life-altering surgeries on them.

Misplaced trust on doctor who was using women’s bodies to get rich

Several former patients described still suffering from pain and complications from their surgeries. They said they consented to the procedures because they trusted Perwaiz. Some testified they were told they had cancer or would get cancer if they didn’t have the operation the Virginia Pilot reports.

Perwaiz profited from the scheme by pocketing millions of dollars from Medicaid and private insurers that paid for the unnecessary medical procedures he performed on the women.

Prosecutors presented evidence showing Perwaiz spent more than $2.3 million on credit card purchases over the last decade and bought luxury cars like a Bentley, Jaguar, Ferrari and Mercedes. They also showed that he collected over $2.4 million in insurance payments for procedures that an expert hired by the prosecution determined were not needed.

‘Doctors are in positions of authority and trust and take an oath to do no harm to their patients,’ Karl Schumann, an FBI agent in the Norfolk field office, told the Washington Post in a statement.

‘With unnecessary, invasive medical procedures, Dr. Perwaiz not only caused enduring complications, pain and anxiety to his patients, but he assaulted the most personal part of their lives and even robbed some of their future,’ he added.

Up to 173 women claimed malpractice against OB/GYN

At trial, Perwaiz defended himself, arguing he performed the surgeries to help his patients, not siphon money from their insurers.

A native of Pakistan, Perwaiz came to the United States in the 1970s and began practicing in the Tidewater area in 1980. He ran a solo practice with two offices in Chesapeake for nearly four decades. He performed surgeries at Bon Secours Harbour View Surgery Center and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center for decades.

The FBI began investigating him in September 2018 after getting a tip from a hospital employee who suspected he was operating unnecessarily on patients.

Perwaiz was arrested a year later, in November 2019, shortly after a search warrant was executed at his offices. He’s been held without bond at Western Tidewater Regional Jail since then.

At the time of the doctor’s arrest no less than 173 women had stepped forward alleging malpractice against Perwaiz.

The disgraced OB/GYN is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge March 31, 2020. 

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