Prosecutors in Los Angeles, California, have charged 14 people with performing unnecessary surgeries on patients in order to collect their insurance money. The District Attorney's office said on Friday that the suspects' greed for profit led them to put hundreds of their patients at risk.

The defendants were able to collect around $150 million from insurance companies through their scam. For over ten years, they allegedly performed surgeries that exposed a number of patients to painful medical complications before authorities discovered their fraudulent scheme.

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On Friday, the suspects entered a plea of not guilty and asked that their bail is lowered. However, the prosecutors opposed the petition of some of the defendants.

The primary suspect and alleged ring leader of the group has been identified as Doctor Muni Uwaydah. Investigators said the group sold overpriced drugs to their patients, even though they did not need these medicines. They also faked various medical documents and results to to make it appear that patients needed surgery.

Uwaydah and his group were able to entice a number of lawyers and health insurance agents to bring patients to their medical facility by offering them generous commissions. If the patient they brought in had to undergo surgery, more money was usually given.

Money is even offered to patients who are hesitant to be operated on, according to the one of the prosecutors.

Uwaydah was able to elude the authorities by fleeing to Germany. However, he is now in the custody of the German police and will soon be returned to the U.S.

The L.A. District Attorney's office released additional information about Uwaydah. He is originally from Lebanon but left his country years ago to escape a police probe involving fraud and the murder of a female model.

The doctor claims that he was innocent of the crime.One of his associates, Kelly Soo Park, was charged with murder, but was later acquitted of the crime.

Park maintains that she had nothing to do with medical insurance fraud started by her former employer. Prosecutors have, however, collected enough evidence to prove that she is one of the active participants in the scam.

Tagsmedical insurance scam, fraudelent surgery, muni uwaydah, kelly soo park, juliana redding, lebanese doctor, insurance fraud, LA medical malpractice, fake surgeons, fake doctors