Javaid Perwaiz has been sentenced to nearly six decades behind bars.
Javaid Perwaiz, 71, a Virginia gynecologist performing unnecessary procedures for years, was sentenced this month to 59 years in prison. Before he was taken into custody, Perwaiz had privileges at both Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. He also had two private practices.
Perwaiz was charged in 2019 in the Eastern District of Virginia on multiple counts of healthcare fraud, among other crimes, and a jury found him guilty on 52 of counts in November 2020. Perwaiz performed the surgeries in order to collect insurance money, and often left his patients with permanent debilitating physical damage. Hundreds of women requested their medical records from law enforcement after Perwaiz’s arrest, and the doctor ultimately admitted to altering files, but said he did so for the benefit of his patients.
Prosecutors alleged the gynecologist “gave his patients unnecessary, irreversible hysterectomies; improper sterilizations; and other procedures, including regular dilation and curettages that he called ‘annual cleanouts.’” They added, “Perwaiz would perform diagnostic procedures with broken equipment and scare patients into surgery by telling them they had cancer when they did not.”
The complaint against the doctor also stated, “The defendant altered the estimated due dates of his pregnant patients to be earlier than they actually were. By doing this, defendant ensured the appearance of compliance with the standard of care and medical necessity, while minimizing the chances that his patients would spontaneously deliver at a time when the defendant was not already scheduled to be at the hospital where he had privileges. As a result, he induced patients prior to 39 weeks of gestation, contrary to the medical standard of care.”
“Motivated by his insatiable and reprehensible greed, Perwaiz used an arsenal of horrifying tactics to manipulate and deceive patients into undergoing invasive, unnecessary, and devastating medical procedures,” acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Raj Parekh said. “These fraudulent and destructive surgeries caused irreversible damage to the victims.”
Nearly thirty patients were listed as directly related to the criminal case against the gynecologist performing unnecessary procedures and the U.S. Attorney’s Office said more than 60 women submitted victim impact statements. In total, Perwaiz was responsible for $20.8 million worth of false billings. At trial, the doctor contended he was not guilty of the charges against him and testified, “I am an advocate for my patients.”
“This individual not only defrauded our healthcare system out of millions of dollars, he did so by performing unnecessary surgeries on women and putting their health and safety at risk,” said Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “Doctors should never take advantage of the trust that their patients put in them, and those who do should be held accountable. I want to thank my team for their hard work on this case and I also want to thank our local, state, and federal partners for their ongoing collaboration and partnership on this and other important cases.”
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Virginia OB/GYN sentenced to 59 years in prison for performing unnecessary surgeries
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