CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The trial has been delayed once again for an OB-GYN accused of performing unnecessary procedures on patients as part of an insurance fraud scheme.
Dr. Javaid Perwaiz’s jury trial was scheduled to start Tuesday in federal court.
However, Perwaiz is currently being held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail, which is having a COVID-19 outbreak. The jail is on lockdown due to the spread of the virus, therefore the earliest the trial can start is Oct. 13.
The trial will now start on that date.
Perwaiz was originally charged with two crimes — health care fraud and making false statements related to health care matters — however, in the months after his arrest, federal prosecutors issued two superseding indictments that brought the number of charges he will face during his jury trial to 62.
Authorities say 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.
He’s also accused of falsifying consent forms and scheduling patients for early labor inductions, according to court records.
Perwaiz has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
His attorneys also previously filed motions asking a judge to dismiss 37 of the charges. They argued some of the charges don’t constitute health care fraud because he would have still billed for some of the procedures regardless of the date they happened. They also argued some of the charges overlapped with each other and should only count as one charge.
Federal prosecutors have set up a website that tracks the Perwaiz case. It includes information for patients who want to contact the FBI or obtain copies of their medical records.
Have a tip? Email Adrienne Mayfield (adrienne.mayfield@wavy.com) or Jason Marks (jason.marks@wavy.com).
