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April 17, 2008

Suspended doctor now faces federal fraud complaint

PROVIDENCE -- A federal complaint was filed today against Tarek W. Wehbe, a physician with Providence and North Providence practices, whose license was suspended less than two weeks ago by the state Department of Health.

The complaint accuses him of health care fraud, money laundering and illicit distribution of drugs such as Percocet, Vicodin and OcyContin.

An arrest arrant has been issued for Wehbe, but he is believed to be out of the country, possibly in Lebanon, according to the news release from U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente's office announcing the criminal complaint.

According to the affidavits, Wehbe owns and runs Renaissance Medical Group with offices on North Main Street, Providence, and on Mineral Spring Avenue, North Providence.

The criminal complaint follows a civil complaint filed last week. Prosecutors are seeking $3 million from Wehbe, who the federal government accuses of fraudulently billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers for services he did not perform.

Wehbe already has his medical license suspended this month by Dr. David R. Gifford, the state Department of Health director.

According to the affidavit supporting the drug distribution charge, Wehbe wrote prescriptions for substances such as Percocet, Vicodin and OcyContin in a manner that was “without any medical necessity and outside the usual course of the practice of medicine,” the news release says. The affidavit details interviews with Wehbe’s patients, some of them in drug recovery programs, who said he would easily prescribe Percocet or OxyContin.

One patient, identified as “JM,” said he had monthly appointments with Wehbe that lasted less than three minutes. Wehbe had written more than thirty prescriptions for OxyContin for him. According to the affidavit, JM said that Wehbe was known on the street as “Dr. Feel Good.”

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with Journal archival reports

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 5:16 PM | Permalink

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