(DETROIT, MI) — A Detroit-area cancer doctor of Lebanese descent has pleaded guilty to 16 federal charges and admits he gave patients unneeded treatments before billing Medicare and other insurers.
Dr. Farid Fata made the pleas Tuesday in U.S. District Court, where he was scheduled to go on trial on October 14.
There was no plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department. Fata pleaded guilty to 13 counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy and two counts of money laundering.
Fata owned Michigan Hematology Oncology, which had many offices in suburban Detroit. He told Judge Paul Borman that he ordered treatments for patients knowing that they were unnecessary and then submitted insurance claims.
“It is my choice,” he said of his decision to plead guilty. “I knew that the infusions were medically unnecessary.”
The government says Fata used a Hotmail account to execute his alleged crimes, including orders to staff and inquiring about a $3-million castle in Lebanon, his native country.
Fata and his family were active members of the Lebanese-American community. He was also the founder of the “Swan for Life Cancer Foundation,” an organization supported by several Lebanese-Americans.