The defendants allegedly tried to cash in on lawsuits filed around the country relating to the TVM implants and the alleged harm they caused women.
A physician and a surgical funding facilitator have been indicted for their alleged role in a nationwide scheme to cheat women plaintiffs in a class-action suit involving transvaginal mesh implants, the Department of Justice said.
Wesley Blake Barber, 49, of Detroit, Michigan, the owner of Surgical Assistance Inc. and Medical Funding Consultants LLC, and Christopher Walker, MD, 49, a licensed urogynecologist and the owner of MedSurg Holdings LLC, in Orlando, Florida, were arrested on Friday and charged in a six-count indictment filed in the Eastern District of New York.
The charges include one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act and one count of violating the Travel Act, DOJ said.
The indictment alleges that Barber and Walker tried to cash in on lawsuits filed around the country relating to the TVM implants and the alleged harm they caused women.
Women in the lawsuits who had their TVMs surgically removed got larger settlements than women who did not. So, the two defendants allegedly lured the women into having surgical procedures to remove the TVMs, after allegedly lying to them about the risks of the TVM implants and the need to incur huge debts and travel long distances to undergo the surgeries.
Walker also allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to Barber in exchange for the referral of these women for surgeries, DOJ said.
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.
Photo credit: Mark Van Scyoc / Shutterstock.com
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The two defendants were arrested and charged in a six-count federal indictment.
The charges include one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to violate the Travel Act and one count of violating the Travel Act.