Neurosurgeon performed fake spine surgeries, crippling patients and billing millions to Medicare, Medicaid

Dr. Aria O. Sabit profited by convincing patients to undergo spinal fusion surgeries with instrumentation that he never used.

A Detroit-area neurosurgeon pleaded guilty to performing medically invasive but fraudulent surgery that caused significant bodily harm to patients in a scheme to bilk Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies out of more than $11 million.

Dr. Aria O. Sabit, 39, a licensed neurosurgeon, pleaded guilty on May 22 to two separate criminal charges.

As owner of the Michigan Brain and Spine Physicians Group, Sabit profited by convincing patients to undergo spinal fusion surgeries with instrumentation, meaning specific medical devices designed to stabilize and strengthen the spine, according to court records. However, though he billed public and private health insurance for instrumentation, the implants were tissue, or he would implant cortical bone dowels, according to the U.S. Department of Justice in Michigan.

The invasive surgery caused serious bodily injury to the patients, according to the Department of Justice.

[Also: Running list of notable 2015 healthcare frauds]

“Disregarding his Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, Dr. Sabit enriched himself by performing unnecessary, invasive spinal surgeries and implanting costly and unnecessary medical devices, all at the expense of his patients’ health and welfare,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.

Sabit is also a defendant in two civil False Claims Act cases brought by the Department of Justice in California.

In 2009, Sabit joined the staff of Ventura Community Memorial Hospital in California, according to authorities and published reports.

In 2010, he became involved with Apex Medical Technologies LLC, a physician-owned supply chain distributor, they said.

Apex paid neurosurgeons lucrative illegal kickbacks tied directly to the volume and complexity of the surgeries performed, and the number of Apex spinal implant devices the surgeons used, according to the Department of Justice.

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Sabit admitted he agreed to convince the hospital to buy spinal implant devices from Apex, and that he and Apex’s co-owners used the company to operate an illegal kickback scheme.

Sabit’s exclusive use of Apex medical devices did not go unnoticed by the hospital, as well as his habit of blaring heavy metal music in the operating room, according to published reports. The hospital fired him. An estimated 30 former patients sued him.

In court Friday, Sabit pleaded guilty to four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, resulting in losses to Medicare, Medicaid and various private insurance companies.  A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15.

This case and others prompted the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General to issue a warning in 2013 alerting doctors and hospitals about the potential danger to patient safety and the risk of fraud in buying surgical products from physician-owned distributorships.

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