A federal jury convicted Javaid Perwaiz, MD, on Nov. 9 of 52 counts related to his scheme to perform unnecessary hysterectomies and other surgeries on women and bill insurers for the procedures, according to the Department of Justice.
According to court records, Dr. Perwaiz billed government and commercial insurers for millions of dollars of surgeries that were not medically necessary for his patients between 2010 and 2019. In many cases, Dr. Perwaiz allegedly told patients they needed the surgeries to avoid cancer to get them to agree to the procedures.
Evidence presented at trial also showed that Dr. Perwaiz falsified records for his obstetric patients so he could induce their labor early to ensure he would be able to conduct and be reimbursed for the deliveries, according to the Justice Department.
Dr. Perwaiz also allegedly billed insurance companies for diagnostic procedures that he only pretended to perform at his office.
"Dr. Perwaiz preyed upon his trusting patients and committed horrible crimes to feed his greed," G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a news release. "Dr. Perwaiz has a history of fraud including having his medical license and hospital privileges revoked. Nothing was going to stop him but the brave victims who testified against him and law enforcement."
Dr. Perwaiz faces a maximum prison sentence of 465 years. He's scheduled to be sentenced on March 31.