There is a major development in the ongoing Medical Mafia investigation that was first uncovered by the Eyewitness News I-Team.
Federal authorities have unsealed an 8-count indictment against a local orthopedic spine surgeon suspected of being at the very center of a wide-ranging conspiracy to defraud injured patients out of millions of dollars.
Read the indictment against Dr. Mark Kabins
The indictment accuses Dr. Mark Kabins of conspiring with a network of doctors, lawyers and a middleman to defraud a severely injured patient and a fellow physician by cutting side deals behind their backs.
Kabins allegedly conspired with Las Vegas lawyer Noel Gage to defraud his spinal patient Melodie Simon and to protect himself from a possible malpractice suit.
The FBI has been investigating the case, as well as dozens of others, for more than five years. Federal agents believe that more than two dozen local doctors and lawyers conspired with self-described medical fixer Howard Awand to steal millions of dollars from injury victims and legal clients.
Read the indictment against Noel Gage and Howard Awand
Previously, only Awand and Gage were indicted. Their cases are now on appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Their main reason for the appeal is the potential testimony of Dr. Kabins, whose lawyers demanded that he be given immunity to testify for the defense in the Gage trial, even though he was a central figure in the probe.
