Long Island

Published on: November 24, 2011

Medical Mafia figure held in contempt of court,

by Stephen Bilkis

The courtroom drama continues in the ever widening Medical Mafia case in Las Vegas. The shocking FBI case made headlines and weakened an already hesitant trust in insurance companies and the medical establishment by Americans with what is now known to have been a blatant deception and fraud by some of the country’s top physicians, attorneys and insurance companies that took billions of dollars from insurance companies and patients as well as strong armed confused and worried patients into having surgeries that they did not need.

Now, a central figure in the case who was scheduled to go before a grand jury and answer some tough questions about some of the other people involved has decided that he is not talking, and as a result he is now being held in contempt of court. Though the man is already in custody, having been convicted for his role in the Medical Mafia, he will receive an additional 18 month sentence if he does not change his tune and cooperate. Medicaid Fraud is involved in this case.

Several physicians have testified that they participated in the scheme, in which attorneys and physicians blindsided confused patients with unnecessary procedures and medical services, claiming that they were working on the behalf of the patient, yet all the while bilking them and their insurance companies for services and surgeries that they did not need. As more people come forward and more information is known, the nature of the case could change substantially as more details are brought to light. There are cases like this in Manhattan and Long Island.

Published on: September 7, 2011

Doctors in a Bronx hospital threatened with insurance dismissal

by Stephen Bilkis

Several obstetricians at the hospital, which specializing in high-risk pregnancies have been threatened with insurance dismissal by their indemnity provider, a malpractice insurance group.

On February 10, an official letter of warning was sent to 8 of the 13 active doctors of the hospital with the claim that a third party had encouraged the insurance group to not renew coverage for the hospital. A New York Criminal Lawyer notes that according to the letter, the “method of practice” and “practice environment” common to the doctors at the hospital was deemed “predictive of future claims in excess of the norm, and makes insuring you an unreasonable burden to the other policyholders.” The letter had no indication of the details of malpractice on the part of the doctors. However, this is a serious development which has far-reaching consequences for many.

If the insurance of these doctors were suddenly discontinued, surrounding hospitals that also operate in the Bronx area would find themselves unprepared for and overloaded with a massive influx of pregnant women seeking to give birth in their facilities. As observed by a New York Criminal Lawyer, the hospital in question delivers around 2,700 babies a year on average, mostly high-risk in nature. The details of this “high risk” depiction seem to include women who are teenagers, or suffer from medical issues such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Due to these circumstances, the chief medical officer of another hospital in the area was quoted as saying, “We don’t have the capacity currently to handle these babies… I look at it now as a borough-wide problem. We’d have to come together with the other providers to figure out what to do.”

Published on: August 8, 2011

Alleged $30 Million Insider Trading Charges for Two Men in Washington, DC

by Stephen Bilkis

A senior associate at a major law firm in Washington, D.C. was arrested by the FBI on federal securities fraud charges, according to Manhattan Criminal Lawyers. It may be that it is all tied in to a $30 million plan that involved insider trading regarding pending corporate mergers.

The senior associate will be arraigned in Newark, along with a banker who has been charged with using the illegal information the associate provided. The U.S. Attorney and FBI officials will soon release statements. The attorneys for the accused have yet to make any comment on the matter.

Authorities in the U.S. Attorney’s office say the scheme had been going on for decades. It stole information not only from the firm the associate worked for, but from several other firms at which the associate had previously worked.