Trial gets underway for Virginia gynecologist, 70, who performed 'unnecessary hysterectomies and tied fallopian tubes without consent' in fraud scheme that saw him net $2.3M from insurance companies

Javaid Perwaiz, 70, is currently facing trial in Virginia on 61 counts of health care fraud as part of a nine-year scheme that prosecutors say saw him bill insurance companies more than $2.3 million

A 'greedy' Virginia gynecologist pressured patients into having unnecessary hysterectomies, falsified sterilization consent forms and induced early labor as part of a million dollar fraud scheme, prosecutors say. 

Javaid Perwaiz, 70, is currently facing trial in Virginia on 61 counts of health care fraud as part of a nine-year scheme that prosecutors say saw him bill insurance companies more than $2.3 million.

In opening statements on Wednesday, prosecutors said Perwaiz falsified records and pressured patients of his Chesapeake clinic into having irreversible surgeries, such as hysterectomies, so he could get cash payouts from the insurance companies. 

Assistant US attorney Rebecca Gantt told jurors that Perwaiz endangered pregnancies, performed unnecessary sterilizations and pressured women into undergoing procedures to fund his lavish lifestyle. 

Perwaiz owns five luxury automobiles, including one Bentley and four Mercedes-Benz vehicles - and claimed on a 2016 loan application that he has $200,000 in 'Gold/Art' in his home, prosecutors have said. 

Prosecutors argue that at least three dozen women were caught up in Perwaiz's scheme. 

Gantt claims Perwaiz would tell patients they were precancerous to convince them they needed the surgery.

Perwaiz's staffers were also urged to rush the surgeries so his patients didn't have time to change their minds, prosecutors say.

'He pushed patients to have irreversible surgeries they did not need,' Gantt said. 'He tricked his patients into having a hysterectomy.' 

In opening statements on Wednesday, prosecutors said Perwaiz falsified records and pressured patients of his Chesapeake clinic into having irreversible surgeries, such as hysterectomies, so he could get cash payouts from the insurance companies

Among the evidence prosecutors mentioned during opening statements was a consent form that authorized Perwaiz to carry out sterilization procedure on a woman back in July 2016.

The woman signed the form in the July but prosecutors claim Perwaiz forged the date so it appeared as if the appointment was in June so it aligned with Medicaid rules that consent is given 30 days prior to a procedure. 

Prosecutors say the procedure actually took place just five days after the woman signed the consent form. 

Prosecutors also claim that Perwaiz billed insurance companies hundreds of thousands of dollars for procedures he didn't actually carry out.

Gantt said there was evidence he billed for hysteroscopies, which are used to view the uterus, at times when his machine was broken.

He also allegedly charged for colposcopy procedures to view a woman's cervix and would write down abnormal findings on charts despite not having the specific solution needed to view those abnormalities.

'This is a case about broken trust, manipulation and greed,' Gantt told the jury. 

Perwaiz, who was arrested in November last year, has denied the allegations. 

His attorney, Lawrence Woodward Jr., argued during his opening statements that Perwaiz was a hardworking doctor who was beloved by thousands of patients in his four decade career.      

'They're bringing to you 25 or 30 cases out of tens of thousands,' he said. 'Many patients were with him for years, even decades, after the surgeries.'

'He is the hardest-working doctor you ever saw.'

Woodward denied claims that Perwaiz would use cancer to scare patients into undergoing procedures. 

'Dr Perwaiz doesn't make cancer scary. Cancer is scary,' he told jurors, adding that all doctors treat cancer differently. 

Perwaiz has been in custody since his arrest last year. 

Assistant US attorney Rebecca Gantt told jurors that Perwaiz endangered pregnancies, performed unnecessary sterilizations and pressured women into undergoing procedures to fund his lavish lifestyle. His medical practice was located in Chesapeake, Virginia

News of arrest prompted outraged patients to swamp his offices demanding their medical records. 

Prosecutor said at the time that about 173 women came forward after his arrest to report similar experiences, including repetitive surgeries that they never asked for.

An arrest warrant affidavit written by an FBI agent alleges that Perwaiz has a long history of performing unnecessary surgical procedures on his patients without their knowledge or permission.

In one case, Perwaiz is accused of performing annual surgeries on a woman who had diagnosed herself with endometriosis. 

When she went to see a fertility specialist in 2014, she learned that 'both fallopian tubes were burnt down to nubs' making natural conception impossible.

'Perwaiz had removed J.L.'s fallopian tubes without her knowledge or consent,' FBI agent Desiree Maxwell wrote in the affidavit.  

Another patient sought treatment in 2012 after an abnormal Pap smear. 

The affidavit says Perwaiz advised her to undergo a hysterectomy, but she objected and only agreed to outpatient laparoscopic surgery to remove just her ovaries.

When she awoke, she was 'shocked' to learn Perwaiz had performed a total abdominal hysterectomy and had perforated her bladder during the surgery, the affidavit states. The woman developed sepsis and was hospitalized for six days.

The investigation began in September 2018 after the FBI received a tip from a hospital employee who suspected Perwaiz was performing unnecessary surgeries on unsuspecting patients.

The tipster said Perwaiz's patients would tell hospital staff they were there for their 'annual clean outs.' In many cases, the patients were not aware of the procedures that were being done on them, the affidavit said. 

Perwaiz has had a history of disciplinary problems.

In 1982, he lost his privileges at Maryview Hospital in Portsmouth because of 'poor clinical judgment' and for performing unnecessary surgeries, Dougherty said.

He was previously investigated by the Virginia Board of Medicine for performing surgeries — mainly hysterectomies — 'without appropriate medical indications and contrary to sound medical judgment,' the affidavit states. He was only censured for poor record-keeping.

In 1996, Perwaiz pleaded guilty to tax evasion. His medical license was temporarily revoked but was reinstated in 1998.