Disgraced Hudson Valley Surgeon Pleads Guilty To Fraud Again

HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NY — Spyros Panos, a former orthopedic surgeon who was previously convicted of health care fraud, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to charges of wire fraud, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft connected to a scheme he set up before he got out of prison.

Panos, who had surrendered his medical license after a prior conviction, admitted to committing health care fraud again, this time by impersonating a licensed doctor.

"Now, for a second time, Panos awaits sentencing for his criminal conduct," said Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Panos had pleaded guilty health care fraud in October 2013. He surrendered his license to practice medicine.

In April 2014, Panos began serving a 54-month sentence in prison. He was released in September 2016 to a halfway house and, a month later, to home confinement. He started serving a two-year term of supervised release in 2017.

He was re-arrested in 2018. He had assumed the identity of a licensed orthopedic surgeon in Westchester, and obtained $876,389.97 in payments for reviewing patient files in workers compensation cases. According investigators, Panos set up the second scheme in December 2013, after he pleaded guilty and before he began serving his sentence.

He was still trying to commit fraud in advance of his Nov. 2, 2020 trial, when he submitted proposed defense exhibits that included fraudulent emails and records, Strauss said.

Panos, 52, of Hopewell Junction, New York, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of health care fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison. The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas on March 16.

In connection with his plea, he agreed to forfeit $876,389.97, and to pay restitution in the same amount.

SEE: Out Of Prison, Disgraced Doctor Faces New Fraud Charges