Former Chesapeake doctor Javaid Perwaiz has been sentenced to 59 years in prison on 52 counts of health care fraud and other charges. Perwaiz was convicted of performing unnecessary procedures including hysterectomies and early induced labor as part of an insurance fraud scheme from 2010 to 2019.
“Perwaiz routinely and aggressively encouraged women to consent to irreversible, invasive, and unnecessary gynecological procedures and surgeries. For instance, Perwaiz routinely told patients that she would develop cancer if she did not undergo surgery and that she already had cancer and required surgery,” a June 2020 indictment said. “Perwaiz routinely did not counsel and offer less-invasive medical options to his patients other than the invasive gynecological procedures and surgeries.”
According to a Tuesday press release, the former obstetrician-gynecologist is 71 years old, and practiced in Hampton Roads since the 1980s. Perwaiz caused about $20.8 million in losses to insurers for the unnecessary procedures.
“The evidence also demonstrated that Perwaiz falsified records for his obstetric patients so that he could induce their labor early, prior to the recommended gestational age that minimizes risk to the mother and baby, to ensure he would be reimbursed for the deliveries,” the press release states.
Over 25 former patients testified in court, with some still experiencing complications. 60 Victim Impact Statements were sent to the court, and the FBI received hundreds of tips on its hotline.
“Witnesses also included nurses who worked at the hospitals where Perwaiz performed his surgeries, who testified that they repeatedly complained about his practices to their supervisors,” the press release states.
“This individual not only defrauded our healthcare system out of millions of dollars, he did so by performing unnecessary surgeries on women and putting their health and safety at risk,” Attorney General Mark R. Herring said in the release. “Doctors should never take advantage of the trust that their patients put in them, and those who do should be held accountable.”
According to the June 2020 indictment, Perwaiz had been terminated from a hospital’s staff in 1983 for “poor clinical judgment, unnecessary surgery, lack of documentation, and discrepancies in record keeping.” According to the indictment, he was formally censured in 1984 “for lack of documentation of patient records and lack of judgment in regards to a sexual relationship with a patient.”
In 1996 the doctor pleaded guilty to two counts of felony tax evasion. “In part, this included Perwaiz attempting to claim the purchase of a Ferrari sports car as a business expense by labeling it as a purchase of an ultrasound machine for his practice,” the 2020 indictment states. Perwaiz’s medical license was subsequently suspended until 1999, according to the indictment.
Then, in September 2018, the FBI initiated a new case against Perwaiz after a hospital employee submitted a tip about unnecessary surgeries, according to a 2019 affidavit for a warrant against the doctor. “Perwaiz’s patients advised hospital staff they were present for their ‘annual clean outs.’ In many instances, the patients were not aware of the procedures they were undergoing,” the affidavit states.
“Motivated by his insatiable and reprehensible greed, Perwaiz used an arsenal of horrifying tactics to manipulate and deceive patients into undergoing invasive, unnecessary, and devastating medical procedures,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Raj Parekh said.
“These fraudulent and destructive surgeries caused irreversible damage to the victims. In many instances, the defendant shattered their ability to have children by using fear to remove organs from their bodies that he had no right to take,” Parekh said. “Despite having to endure immeasurable physical and emotional pain, the victims showed resilience, strength, and courage by speaking out and sharing their stories to hold the defendant accountable for his heinous crimes.”
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and the Star News Digital Network. Email tips to [email protected].
