Dr. Harold Tabaie, a 78-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon from Anaheim, is one of 15 people charged in a Los Angeles health care fraud takedown that federal prosecutors say involved $2 billion in fraudulent claims. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced the charges on Thursday and alleges that Tabaie and a chiropractor billed Medicare $134 million for artery procedures that patients did not need. Every charge is an allegation, and every defendant is presumed innocent.
A surgeon, a chiropractor and $134 million in Medicare billing
Tabaie and Hany Malek, 61, of Tarzana, each face four counts of health care fraud. Prosecutors say Malek is a chiropractor who posed as a medical doctor. Malek also faces two counts of bank fraud over a 2021 Paycheck Protection Program loan application that allegedly overstated a revenue drop of more than 25 percent, with the money used for personal expenses.
The procedures at issue are atherectomies, which are done to clear narrowed arteries. The release puts the Medicare billing at $134 million in its summary and at $135 million in the section on this case. Either way, that is the amount billed to Medicare, not what Medicare paid…