Doctor gets nearly 17 years in prison for vast opioid scheme
DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area doctor has been sentenced to nearly 17 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $30 million. Frank Patino was accused of leading a scheme to bill Medicare and private insurers for unnecessary injections and write prescriptions for millions of opioids. The government says the fraud was one of the most egregious health care cases in U.S. history. Patino has declared he is innocent. His new attorney is seeking a new trial. He says Patino’s trial lawyer botched his defense. The new lawyer says Patino has traveled the world to give medical care to the poor.
