Disgraced Cancer Doc Named in 20 Civil Lawsuits Filed on Anniversary of Arrest

Disgraced Oakland County oncologist Dr. Farid Fata has been named as a defendant in civil lawsuits filed by family members of some of his former patients on the one-year anniversary of his arrest on charges that he bilked Medicare out of millions of dollars with phony diagnoses and unnecessary treatments.

As many as 20 lawsuits had been filed in Oakand County Circuit Court by Thursday, The Oakland Press reports. The timing was coincidental and not symbolic, Jules Olsman, one of the lawyers representing some of the plaintiffs, told the newspaper.

“The thread running through these cases, obvious, is that these are people who either did not have cancer and were treated with chemotherapy for no reason, or they were people provided with chemotherapy that no reasonable person would believe was going to be effective, causing all kinds of suffering … they didn’t need to have,” said Jules Olsman of Olsman, Mueller, Wallace & MacKenzie law firm.

The lawsuits cite many of the charges in the criminal indictment, which include 19 counts of health care fraud, two counts of money laundering ,and one count each of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and unlawful procurement of naturalization.

» For the complete story, go to The Oakland Press.