For Immediate Release:
Contact: Gina Balaya (313) 226-9758
March 27, 2008

EVENT: Sentenced
Defendant: Hamid Taaid, M.D.

MIDLAND DOCTOR SENTENCED TO 20 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR HEALTH CARE FRAUD

A 47-year-old Midland man was sentenced on March 25, 2008 to 20 months in federal prison for defrauding Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan of over $70,000, United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy announced today.

Murphy was joined in the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan.

Hamid Taaid, M.D., was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Thomas L. Ludington on Tuesday, March 25, 2008. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Ludington ordered Taaid to pay restitution of $68,204.06 to Medicare and $4,978.81 to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan.

“Fraudulent billing practices and the manipulation of patient and medical billing records in order to cheat the system are serious violations of both the private and public trust. Our office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who, like Taaid, have violated that trust and have attempted to enrich themselves through fraudulent practices.“ United States Attorney Murphy said.

Hamid Taaid had entered a plea of guilty to the offense of health care fraud before Judge Ludington in September of 2007. According to the government's evidence, Taaid had engaged in multiple instances of healthcare, wire, and mail fraud, and several instances of bankruptcy fraud over a span of several years in approximately 2002 through 2005.

After serving his federal imprisonment term of 20 months, Taaid will be on supervised release for an additional 2 years.

U.S. Attorney Murphy thanked the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services - OIG, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan Corporate & Financial Investigation for their assistance in the successful investigation of the case. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James A. Brunson.