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Dipak Desai Now Facing Federal Charges But Will He Ever Be Tried?
Dr. Dipak Desai is in more trouble. As expected, a federal grand jury has now indicted him and his chief operating officer for medicare fraud. These charges are in addition to the long list of state criminal charges pending against him. Desai is currently in a court ordered mental health facility for evaluation of his mental condition since being found incompetent to stand trial due to brain damage from a stroke. If and when Desai is arraigned on these charges he will have to be found competent to stand trial in federal court also. It will be interesting to see if the federal court accepts the Nevada state court’s finding of incompetence or whether they hold their own competency hearings. Just like in state court, a criminal defendant in federal court must be competent in order to stand trial. However civil trials can proceed regardless. Interestingly it is not the Hepatitis C outbreak that has him in the most trouble with the law but rather the widespread insurance fraud which was allegedly discovered during the Hepatitis investigation. In particular his centers were apparently over billing for anesthesia and operating room times. Over 50,000 patients who were seen in his endoscopy clinics had to be tested for all forms of Hepatitis and also HIV. The Law Med Blog has all the details on our special Nevada Hepatitis C Case page.
From The Las Vegas Sun By Steve Kanigher
Dipak Desai indicted by federal grand jury in hepatitis C case
A federal grand jury in Las Vegas handed down a criminal indictment today against Dr. Dipak Desai and his chief operating officer, Tonya Rushing, in connection with Southern Nevada’s high-profile hepatitis C case.
Desai, who owned the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, and Rushing were each charged with one count of conspiracy and 25 counts of health care fraud.
The indictment, released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, also states that Desai and Rushing should forfeit up to $8.1 million.
Rushing, 43, is scheduled to appear for arraignment May 6 before federal Magistrate Judge George Foley Jr., but arraignment of 61-year-old Desai has not yet been scheduled.
Desai became the central figure in a hepatitis C outbreak in Southern Nevada that was disclosed in 2008 and received national attention. The Southern Nevada Health District had linked nine hepatitis C cases to the reuse of syringes and other questionable medical practices at his endoscopy clinics.
But the district also said more than 100 other patients may have been infected, with the outbreak prompting health officials to recommend that 50,000 patients test for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
Read the rest of the story here: The Las Vegas Sun
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[...] contracted the virus when they were administered the drug at a Las Vegas colonoscopy center run by Dr. Dipak Desai. The vials of propofol are intended for single use only and in a novel legal approach lawyers for [...]