Medical Mafia? Apparently It Exists in Vegas.
Imagine this: you’re injured in a car accident, but your doctor wants you to pay medical bills up front. A friend offers to put you in touch with someone who can help, and they do – you go to another doctor, no upfront fees, and you only have to pay if a settlement is reached in your personal injury case.
According to a CNN report, this is exactly what happened to Cynthia Johnson in 2002, and she wasn’t alone. After she realized she couldn’t afford the medical costs up front at her usual doctor, a friend put her in touch with a man – Howard Awand – whose name she was told never to mention. He set her up with the top doctors and a prominent lawyer in the area.
She had doctor’s appointment after appointment for six weeks – and surgery was recommended. She raked up more than $40,000 in medical bills. This was all for a relatively insignificant car accident Johnson had on her way to work – and a U.S. government official had been the cause.
The U.S. attorney in charge of the case, Ruth Cohen, started asking questions, and found something wasn’t right. Every doctor and lawyer Johnson had consulted was connected to this guy Awand. All the participants in this circle called themselves the “Medical Mafia,” and they had been at it for years “leveling the playing field for accident victims,” they claimed.
Insurance companies saw it a bit differently, calling the scenario something out of a horror film. Over time, Johnson’s case blew out of proportion, and caused federal trials against prominent surgeons. Ultimately, after her life was threatened by those involved with the ‘medical mafia,’ she chose to talk with the FBI about her situation, hoping to find a solution.
As CNN put it, the group who had manipulated Johnson and had been accused of insurance fraud looked like “a gang of doctors and lawyers with no intention of backing down.”
