Delay of trial in Desai overbilling case sought
Prosecutors and defense lawyers filed an agreement Friday to put off the upcoming federal trial of Dr. Dipak Desai and his former clinic manager, Tonya Rushing, until late November at the earliest.
Desai, 62, and Rushing, 44, each face one count of conspiracy and 25 counts of health care fraud on allegations they schemed to inflate the length of medical procedures and overbill health insurance companies.
The felony case, currently set for trial on May 22, stems from the 2007 hepatitis C outbreak at Desai's clinics.
The delay is necessary so that the Oct. 22 criminal trial in District Court of Desai and two of his former nurse anesthetists, Keith Mathahs, 75, and Ronald Lakeman, 64, can be completed, according to the three-page agreement.
"The state case involves allegations of insurance fraud, which arise from the same facts and circumstances in the instant case," the attorneys wrote. "Given the commonality of facts, the parties agree that it is appropriate to continue the instant case until after the state case concludes."
U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro, who is presiding over the federal case, must approve the agreement.
The state case against Desai was put on hold for some 18 months until it was determined earlier this year that he was competent to stand trial.
Two strokes have left Desai with some cognitive impairments.
Desai, Mathahs and Lakeman are facing 28 felony charges, including racketeering, insurance fraud and neglect of patients, in the state case. They were indicted in June 2010.
The charges, the result of one of the biggest investigations ever conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department, revolve around seven people who authorities say were infected with the potentially deadly hepatitis C virus at Desai's clinics in 2007.
Rushing's indictment in the federal case has complicated the district attorney's case against Desai.
Rushing was not charged in the state case after she convinced prosecutors that she had acted under orders from the physician.
Prosecutors found her more valuable as a witness against Desai, but with the federal case hanging over her head, her lawyers have said they will not allow her to testify in the state case. They do not want her to incriminate herself in the federal case.
Rushing also cooperated with federal prosecutors, but they suspected she was culpable in the insurance scheme, so they indicted her.
Desai's lawyers, meanwhile, filed court papers late last week challenging the state charges.
Lead defense attorney Richard Wright argued prosecutors made a shotgun presentation to the indicting grand jury, which violated Desai's constitutional rights.
"It appears that the state has taken a throw-it-on-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks approach to prosecution without regard for fundamental principles of criminal law and due process," Wright wrote in his court papers.
Wright also argued that "aside from mere conjecture and the inflammation of emotions," prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence linking the hepatitis C infections of patients to the actions of Desai and his clinic staff.
Prosecutors will have a chance to respond to Wright's contentions in writing before an April 17 hearing on the challenge before District Judge Valerie Adair.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
