Dr. Farid Fata, 50, has just been sentenced to 45 years in prison by a court in Michigan, USA, on 13 counts related to medical fraud.

Portrait of Dr. Farid Fata - Photo: michigancancercenter.com

This includes the crime of administering cancer medication to over 500 patients who did not need it, including some who were not even sick.

CNN reported that Fata, a doctor in the Detroit area, diagnosed these patients with end-stage leukemia and prescribed specialized medication for them.

However, in reality, many of them did not have cancer. 553 patients were given unnecessary intravenous fluids or injections by Fata. According to US prosecutors, the motive behind this unscrupulous behavior stemmed from greed, disregarding human health and lives.

Fata earned tens of millions of dollars by intentionally prescribing expensive cancer drugs and treatments to these patients. In addition to the above charges, Fata is also accused of conspiracy to pay or receive bribes and two counts related to money laundering.

Federal prosecutors say Fata, who was arrested in August 2013, has repaid $17.6 million that he received from healthcare companies and private insurance businesses.

"For Fata, patients are not human beings; they are centers of his profit," prosecutors put it metaphorically.

Many of Fata's patients now live with the consequences of his greed for the rest of their lives. Some have even suffered from illness and lost everything due to the exorbitant costs of Fata's "cancer treatment" regimen.

A patient named Robert Sobieray had to go to Fata's clinic for chemotherapy for two and a half years even though he didn't have cancer.

“Why, why me? What was the motive?” cried Sobieray. Sobieray’s health had deteriorated due to this “bizarre” treatment. The medication was so strong that he lost almost all of his teeth and his jaw began to deform.

Patient Patty Hester had known Fata since 2010. Following the advice of another doctor that Hester's white blood cell count was very low, she went to see Dr. Fata, a hematologist and oncologist.

Hester nearly broke down when Dr. Fata told her she had macular dysplasia (MDS). “He said I needed chemotherapy immediately,” Hester recalled.

However, being a healthcare worker, Hester discussed with Fata the possibility of treatment involving plasma therapy, rather than chemotherapy. She continued this expensive treatment until a colleague showed her a news report on television stating that "her doctor had been arrested." It was then that Hester learned she didn't have cancer at all.

(According to TTO)