Surgeon agrees to plea deal in medical malpractice fraud case

Las Vegas surgeon Mark Kabins agreed this afternoon in U.S. District Court to plead guilty to misprision of a felony in the ongoing federal medical malpractice fraud case.

If the court agrees to accept the plea agreement, Kabins will serve six months in home confinement, receive five years' probation and pay former patient Melodie Simon $3.5 million in restitution.

The United States Criminal Code defines misprision of a felony this way: “Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."

Kabins was charged in connection with what prosecutors say was a scheme to defraud clients involved in personal-injury lawsuits.

The government claims Kabins was a member of a corrupt network of doctors and lawyers who worked together to boost medical costs and inflate legal settlements. They then split the proceeds from lucrative settlements, according to prosecutors.

The primary focus of the investigation was the treatment of Simon, who sought to take legal action after she was paralyzed following routine back surgery in 2000.

Kabins is one three defendants in the federal fraud case. The other two are Noel Gage and Howard Awand.