Convicted Doc Ordered to Pay $2.9M in Restitution

Wednesday, February 3, 2021 | 0

A Southern California doctor who pleaded no contest to charges relating to his role in a scheme that allegedly subjected 2,841 people to unnecessary and dangerous surgeries was ordered to pay $2.9 million in restitution, according to a report by the Orange County Register.

Dr. Mario Rosenberg was also sentenced to three years of probation Friday and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service.

Rosenberg was one of three doctors accused of performing unnecessary procedures as part of what prosecutors said was a $154 million scheme connected to the Unity Surgical Outpatient Center in Buena Park.

The Orange County Register said sentencing was delayed nearly seven years as attorneys negotiated terms of the restitution requirement with prosecutors.

When Orange County prosecutors announced charges in the Unity Outpatient Surgery Center case, they said it was the largest medical fraud investigation in the country. Patients received a cash payment — typically between $300 and $1,000 — or a discount on cosmetic surgery for undergoing so-called “sweaty palm” procedures.

“A sweaty palm surgery requires a patient to undergo general anesthesia, where the doctor will collapse a lung to clamp a nerve right next to the spine,” former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said in a 2009 statement. “It is dangerous, almost always unnecessary, and may result in terrible side effects. It is outrageous that a doctor would cut into healthy patients and use their bodies as cash registers.”