Brevard doctor ordered to pay Medicare $90M
- Doctor has 30 days to appeal judgment
- Whistleblower entitled to percentage of damages recovered
- Both cancer centers have been closed, sold
A Brevard County doctor who operated two cancer centers was ordered to pay the government nearly $90 million for Medicare fraud, court documents show.
Dr. Wasfi Makar, a radiation oncologist who owned American Cancer Treatment Centers in Titusville and Rockledge, was sued on the government's behalf under the False Claims Act by whistleblower Joseph McBride. McBride worked as a radiation therapy technologist at the Rockledge center.
The final judgment was ordered May 14 by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. Makar has 30 days to appeal.
Chad Alvaro, Makar's Orlando attorney, said the doctor did not commit fraud and intends to present evidence to the court and move for a new trail within 28 days of the judgment date.
"Failing that, he will appeal," Alvaro said.
McBride filed the suit in 2012 alleging that Makar and the centers billed Medicare for procedures that were never performed or improperly performed from 2009 to 2012, court records show. He also said other radiation therapists were instructed to bill Medicare for procedures requiring an imaging instrument the cancer centers didn't have.
"I was alarmed by what I saw happening at ACTC," McBride said in a statement released by his attorney, Barbara Perez of Aronovitz Law in Miami. "The health of patients was being endangered by the failure to properly administer required radiation services, and I simply couldn't stand by and allow it to continue. I am very pleased with the outcome my attorneys were able to achieve and that justice prevailed."
Under whistleblower laws, McBride, who worked at ACTC from December 2009 to February 2012, could receive 10 percent to 30 percent of any damages recovered. The amount Makar was ordered to pay is $89.63 million, which includes civil penalties.
Makar's practice filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The cancer centers were closed and the properties were sold.
Perez said there is no way to determine how much money Makar will actually pay.
"We don't know what portion of it we'll be able to collect," she said Tuesday by phone. "We are following proper procedure, but I can't tell you what — if any — amount will actually be collected for the government.
"I'm pleased with the judgment and we have a very pleased client who believes, thus far, justice has prevailed," Perez said. "It was a very good move on his part and (his) being concerned about the patients, which was his primary concern."
Makar never presented a formal defense, except for filing an affidavit denying the fraud allegations and calling McBride a disgruntled former employee, Perez said.
"It is highly unusual for him not to take a position in this matter," Perez said. "He is highly educated, not only as a physician, but as a businessman. It's highly unusual for him to let it go without trying to take any position on the matter."
Alvaro said the doctor's inaction was a mistake.
Makar's "failure to defend the case was the result of a mistaken belief regarding the effect of the bankruptcy automatic stay," Alvaro said in an email. "He retained my firm to represent him after the default was entered. The district court judge declined to set aside the default, resulting in entry of the final judgment."
Contact McClung at 321-242-3776 or cmcclung@floridatoday.com.
Former patients
Patients who believe they may have been harmed by American Cancer Treatment Centers in Titusville and Rockledge can contact a malpractice attorney or the Florida Board of Medicine at flboardofmedicine.gov/complaints-process-faqs/