This weekly roundup features arrests, criminal proceedings, and other reports alleging improper or questionable conduct by healthcare professionals.
A vascular surgeon from Florida . Moses deGraft-Johnson, MD, who ran the Heart and Vascular Institute of Northern Florida in Tallahassee, was accused of falsely billing Medicaid, Medicare, and other insurers for cardiac procedures he never performed. The doctor allegedly claimed that he performed more than 3,600 atherectomies over five years, and filed claims for angioplasties that were never done. In some instances, the doctor claimed he performed procedures on dates he was out of the country. According to prosecutors, deGraft-Johnson's "ultimate long-term professional goal" was to become the president of Ghana and was using his fraud proceeds "to establish an empire in a foreign country." Court records show that deGraft-Johnson wired $1.8 million to entities and associates within Ghana, although his lawyer said the money is being used to help the country's people. (The Associated Press)
In Georgia, , the U.S. Department of Justice reported. Frank Bynes Jr., MD, who was found guilty of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and health care fraud, wrote prescriptions for more than 1,800 patients. He was connected to more than 50,000 pharmacy fills over three years, totaling approximately 4.6 million doses of controlled substances. Investigators also said that Bynes prescribed the "holy trinity" drug cocktail -- opioids, alprazolam, and carisoprodol (Soma) -- to patients he knew were addicted, and prescribed the combination to Medicare patients at a rate higher than any other physician in the U.S. The doctor was also accused of using a fake police badge to intimidate patients, and coercing female patients into providing sexual favors in return for prescription drugs, prosecutors said.
The , according to The New York Times. The announcement follows several allegations of sexual misconduct -- including unnecessary medical exams -- against Robert Anderson, a football team physician and director of the university's health service who retired in 2003 and died in 2008. Although local prosecutors said the statute of limitations precluded bringing charges in connection with the allegations, university officials said they will continue to pursue the investigation.
In Pennsylvania, a physician was sentenced to prison after , federal prosecutors said. Spiro Kassis, a 66-year-old specialist in psychiatry and pain medicine, admitted to selling prescriptions for opioid drugs -- including oxycodone and buprenorphine -- for $200 dollars each. The government said Kassis sold prescriptions in the back room of his East Norriton office, and saw about 45 patients a day. In some cases he distributed dangerous drug cocktails to his patients, which consisted of oxycodone, methadone, and buprenorphine.
, the Justice Department said. Pedro Ibarra-Perocier, 58, who was formerly employed by the Wagner Indian Health Service Clinic in South Dakota, is charged with four counts of sexual abuse and four counts of abusive sexual contact. The indictment alleges sexual misconduct through use of fear. The indictment came just days after former Indian Health Service Stanley Patrick Weber was sentenced to five life sentences. Ibarra-Perocier pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors in Texas are . William Davis, RN, who previously worked for the CHRISTUS Owens Heart Hospital in Tyler, faces multiple counts that include capital murder, first-degree murder, and aggravated assault. Davis, 36, is accused of the deaths and injuries of seven patients, all who were recovering from cardiovascular surgeries in the hospital's Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. He allegedly introduced air into the patient's arterial lines, which court documents said was responsible for the death of two patients and severe injuries in the others. (FOX 51)