Ex-Tustin MD Indicted on Fraud Charges

Former Tustin gynecologist Ivan C. Namihas, who escaped state criminal charges despite more than 100 sexual abuse complaints by his patients, was indicted Wednesday on mail fraud charges for allegedly billing patients and insurers for unnecessary tests and treatments.

Federal prosecutors launched what turned into a yearlong investigation of Namihas, after the Orange County district attorney’s office said it could not bring criminal sexual abuse charges against the gynecologist because the statute of limitations had run its course on the alleged sex crimes.

Many of the women who came forward to make complaints against Namihas described incidents of sexual abuse they said occurred five or 10 years earlier, and the state has a one-year statute of limitations on such crimes.

The state medical board stripped Namihas of his license in June, 1992, after the physician declined to defend himself against sexual molestation charges at a court hearing.

Namihas could not be reached for comment. He has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual misconduct through his attorneys since the accusations surfaced more than two years ago.

In seeking mail fraud charges against Namihas, federal authorities were able to present to a Los Angeles grand jury evidence of alleged criminal activity dating back five years to July, 1989.

Namihas’ attorney, Paul S. Meyer, released a statement Wednesday saying Namihas was “saddened that we must now revisit a matter that has already been closed out through thorough investigation.”

“We suspect that the motivation to reopen an investigation that has previously been closed may have been influenced by the great amount of publicity that accompanied the district attorney’s decision not to file,” Meyer said. “Now, over two years later, we are faced with charges arising from that same period of time.”

The indictment documents 14 instances between August, 1989, and April, 1992, in which the 62-year-old Namihas fraudulently billed patients and insurers for “unnecessary and improper examinations,” collecting nearly $16,000 in payments.

Namihas would typically inform patients that they suffered from various diseases when he knew otherwise, subjecting them to extensive examinations and surgical procedures that never should have been performed, the indictment alleges.

“By creating the impression that the victim patient’s health was seriously threatened,” Namihas “ensured that the victim would consent to further, more expensive treatment,” the indictment says.

In some of the treatments, prosecutors said, Namihas performed painful laser surgery on patients--even when test results and biopsies came back negative--and he billed exorbitantly for the procedures.

“This was a scheme by Namihas to defraud based on fraudulent representations of the conditions of his patients,” said Assistant U.S. Atty. Jonathan S. Shapiro. “Based on those fraudulent representations, the indictment alleges Namihas got women to agree to have further treatments.”

Namihas was arrested by federal authorities on Wednesday in Las Vegas, where he now lives, and appeared before a magistrate judge, who set bail at $100,000. Namihas is expected to be arraigned in U. S. District Court in Los Angeles within a few weeks.

Although the California Medical Board accused Namihas of sexually abusing 69 of his patients over the past decade, and nearly 100 more women called to report similar allegations to the board after it announced it was filing a complaint against the doctor, the indictment does not mention sexual abuse allegations. There is no federal jurisdiction over such crimes.

However, federal statutes make it illegal for anyone to obtain money through the U.S. mail with “false and fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises. . .”

Namihas faces a maximum penalty of 70 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation if convicted on all counts. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Santa Ana assisted in the investigation.

Orange County prosecutors said they could not have brought criminal charges against Namihas back in 1992 because many of the alleged incidents occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s and they were faced with a one-year statute of limitations.

Tom Lazar, the deputy state attorney general who represented the state medical board in the Namihas case--the biggest medical sexual abuse case in state history--said he was elated at the decision of federal prosecutors to bring the matter to a grand jury and to secure an indictment.

“In nine years of prosecuting cases like this, the Namihas case dwarfed all others, just by the sheer viciousness of the acts and number of victims,” Lazar said. “We described him in court as a predator in a white coat, and I’ll stand by that. This is a guy who richly deserves what’s coming to him.”

State investigators said the Brazilian-born Namihas “repeatedly used his position of authority as a physician, and his unique position of access as a gynecologist, to invade women’s most intimate areas of personal privacy, solely to carry out the most egregious . . . sexual exploitation for his own perverse sexual gratification.”

Scores of women complained to the medical board that they had been fondled, masturbated or otherwise sexually abused. One patient charged that Namihas raped her. Another accused him of deliberately withholding anesthesia while suturing her after a hysterectomy. Many said Namihas made inappropriate sexual innuendoes or tried to kiss them.

Last year, Namihas agreed to an out-of-court settlement over a civil malpractice lawsuit filed by Stacy Crumpler of Huntington Beach, who accused Namihas of performing unnecessary surgery on her when she was 19. Of the 14 mail fraud counts filed against him, four involve billings through the mail to Crumpler or her insurer.

Crumpler also told the medical board that Namihas falsely accused her of having a sexually transmitted disease and told her she had cancer and would become infertile.

The medical board revoked Namihas’ license after preparing for what was expected to be a 14-week hearing on allegations lodged against him. The day before his hearing was to begin, Namihas offered to surrender his medical license, but the board rejected the offer and held the hearing anyway.

Namihas did not appear, telling the board in a letter that the media had “unmercifully indicted, prosecuted, convicted and professionally executed me before a hearing could be held.” The board took only 30 minutes to find him guilty of all 69 counts against him.

“I had as many witnesses as I wanted. Hordes of angry women. I was going to schedule them four a day,” Lazar said.

Dr. Sidney E. Wechsler, professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the USC School of Medicine who reviewed the Namihas case for the state medical board, called Namihas “professionally abusive.”

The indictment, he said, was “good news, in that someone else can carry forth a criminal prosecution.”

Namihas Chronology

Former Tustin gynecologist Ivan C. Namihas gained notoriety two years ago when more than 100 women filed complaints claiming he had sexually abused them during examinations. A look at his case:

* Feb. 18, 1992: Seeking to revoke Namihas’ medical license, the California Medical Board cites a series of incidents from 1968 to 1986 stating he allegedly fondled patients.

* March 10, 1992: Medical board seeks to accelerate the revocation process after more than 50 women call, claiming Namihas molested them as far back as the late 1960s. Police explore possible criminal action against him.

* March 13, 1992: Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Eleanor M. Palk issues a temporary restraining order to close down Namihas’ medical practice until another hearing can be held. The previous day, Namihas had removed furniture from his office and nameplates from his door and building directory.

* March 25, 1992: Namihas fails to honor a subpoena to testify in malpractice case involving another doctor. His lawyer says he is helping build houses for the poor in the Dominican Republic. Superior Court Judge Francisco F. Firmat says he will issue a warrant for Namihas’ arrest if he does not appear in court the following day.

* March 31, 1992: The arrest warrant is canceled when plaintiff’s attorney, who originally persuaded the judge to issue the warrant, decides she can do without his testimony.

* May 19, 1992: Namihas loses the right to practice medicine in California when he declines to appear at his court hearing to defend himself against the sexual abuse charges. In a letter mailed to the court, Namihas’ lawyer says publicity about the case is one reason the doctor decides to surrender the license and forgo a court defense.

* May 20, 1992: Citing statute-of-limitation problems, the Orange County district attorney’s office says it will not bring criminal sexual abuse charges against Namihas.

* May 29, 1992: Namihas files for federal bankruptcy in Las Vegas, where he had moved earlier in the year.

* June 5, 1992: Accusing Namihas of lying on a medical insurance application, the Southern California Physicians Insurance Exchange, which approved a policy for the gynecologist, asks judge to void coverage and release company from legal liabilities.

* May 6, 1993: Namihas reaches an out-of-court settlement in a malpractice suit brought by a Huntington Beach woman who accuses him of performing unnecessary surgery on her just to frighten her.

* Aug. 9, 1993: U. S. attorney launches criminal investigation of Namihas, exploring the possibility he abused federal mail fraud statutes when he sent medical bills to patients he has been accused of sexually molesting.

* July 27, 1994: Federal grand jury in Las Vegas indicts Namihas on 14 counts of mail fraud.

Source: Times reports