Virginia hospital pleads not guilty to fraud tied to unnecessary surgeries scheme

Chesapeake (Va.) Regional Medical Center on Jan. 28 pleaded not guilty to charges of healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and interfering with government functions, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed to Becker's.

The hospital, part of Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, is accused of allowing a physician to perform unnecessary surgeries for nearly a decade.

Prosecutors allege the hospital knowingly enabled Javaid Perwaiz, MD, a former OB-GYN convicted for healthcare fraud in 2021, despite concerns about his billing practices and a history of misconduct. Between 2010 and 2019, the hospital allegedly received $18.5 million in reimbursements for procedures he performed, including unnecessary hysterectomies and improper sterilizations.

"As we have maintained from the outset, the government's case is unfounded and an excessive overreach and we are confident we will prevail in court," a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement provided to Becker's.

In a motion filed to dismiss the lawsuit, the hospital CHA denied the conspiracy and fraud charges and argued that it is asserting legal defenses to protect its rights as a Virginia state entity.

"CHA emphasizes that it does not assert these defenses to avoid responding to the indictment's factual allegations or to circumvent responsibility for alleged criminal conduct," the hospital said in court documents. "Indeed, CHA categorically rejects as false the charges that it engaged in conspiracy and fraud. It asserts these threshold defenses, however, to safeguard and preserve important legal rights conferred upon it as an arm of the Commonwealth of Virginia."

A status conference on Feb. 6 is expected to determine a trial date.

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