Dr. Farid Fata to be Sentenced for Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering
What will be the outcome of U.S. v. Farid Fata?
UPDATE: Dr. Farid Fata has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
It’s a story that has captivated the Metro Detroit area. A well-respected doctor is arrested for falsely diagnosing more than 500 patients with cancer; administering unnecessary chemotherapy and radiation therapies; and raked in tens of millions of dollars from insurance companies. Dr. Farid Fata plead guilty last year to 16 counts which included health care fraud and money laundering. He will be sentenced today and faces a minimum of 30 years in prison. Joining “Detroit Today” host Stephen Henderson to talk about the sentencing and the atmosphere the last few days in the courtroom is Fox 2 reporter Roop Raj. He has been covering the trial in the courtroom and live-tweeting the proceedings. And Ellen Piligian is an independent journalist who has written for People Magazine, The Detroit Free Press and Hour Magazine. Piligian’s father–Dr. John Piligian, a pathologist–died after being treated by Fata.
- The Insult of a Second Opinion: Raj says in many of the cases of patients who were falsely diagnosed, their visit to Farid Fata was in order to receive a second opinion.
- Getting Caught in Fata’s Scam: Piligian says her father received a second opinion when Dr. Fata diagnosed him with cancer, but that the course of treatment he received while in Fata’s care was well beyond what he should have received from a doctor. She says even though her father was a pathologist, he was still “duped” by Fata.
