CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A defense attorney representing a Chesapeake OB-GYN accused of performing unnecessary procedures on women in a health care fraud scheme is trying to make sure the coronavirus doesn’t interfere with his client’s right to a speedy trial.

On Tuesday, defense attorney Larry Woodward filed a motion in federal court in an effort to make sure OB-GYN Javaid Perwaiz’s trial starts Sept. 2.

However, the federal court isn’t starting jury trials again until at least mid-September.

The judge in the case against Perwaiz said she will issue an opinion on the matter sometime next week.

The other issue impacting Perwaiz’s trial is that there’s no jury pool. Because of the coronavirus, the federal courts stopped sending jury summonses to residents.

His trial was scheduled originally for June, but was pushed back because of coronavirus.

Perwaiz has pleaded not guilty to charges against him, which include:

  • 1 count of healthcare fraud — criminal forfeiture
  • 25 counts of health care fraud
  • 33 counts of making false statements related to health care matters
  • 4 counts of aggravated identity theft

Prosecutors believe that Perwaiz committed these crimes over the course of about 10 years. They believe Perwaiz made money by submitting false insurance claims for procedures that weren’t medically necessary, and that he justified the procedures by falsifying patient statements and diagnoses. Prosecutors also accuse Perwaiz of altering sterilization consent forms, and in some cases, allegedly filing insurance claims for procedures that weren’t done at all, according to court documents.

Prosecutors believe one way Perwaiz made money was by routinely scheduling patients for early labor inductions, court documents state.

Have a tip? Email Adrienne Mayfield (adrienne.mayfield@wavy.com) or Jason Marks (jason.marks@wavy.com).

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