A hearing held about assets of Drs. Dipak Desai and Eladio Carrers concluded late Tuesday. Attorneys were trying to get Desai's assets frozen, saying he may be trying to protect his money illegally. The judge granted a preliminary injunction.
The injunction was granted against Dr. Desai, his wife and Dr. Eladio Carrera and any entities they own. They must get court approval to move money and assets over $50,000.
An injunction was not granted against Dr. Vishvinder Sharma and Dr. Clifford Carrol. The judge says he only imposed this against the doctors who had their licenses suspended by the state medical board.
The ruling is a victory for the attorneys representing thousands of patients of the business. They wanted the injunction so the doctors could not hide assets.
Dominique Pollara, Desai's attorney said, "The plaintiffs have no right to the property. They have no interest in the property."
"Without the injunction here, judge, this court and all of these attorneys, thousands of victims may very well waste two years of their lives," said John Muije, plaintiffs' attorney.
Desai is the doctor at the center of the hepatitis scare which exposed patients to hepatitis. He's the owner of the Southern Nevada Endoscopy Center, which is in the middle of the investigation.
Attorneys for some of those patients say they want to make sure Desai doesn't move his assets to protect them.
"There has been some talk and some hanky panky that Dr. Desai transferring assets of automobiles, cash, some bank accounts and if that's true, there are some terribly injured people who are suffering as a result of Dr. Desai's actions," said Ed Bernstein.
Also, the Las Vegas City Council will try to decide Wednesday what to do with the $500,000 fine levied against the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.
The health department and Metro have asked for some of the some of the money to offset costs of the investigation.
The DA's office is also asking for a part of it to help in any possible prosecution.
