Time’s Up for Doctor in Fraud Case : Courts: After conviction 2 1/2 years ago, ex-Valley eye surgeon is jailed, despite pleas and protests that he wasn’t ready.

Time and the judge’s patience ran out Thursday for a doctor convicted 2 1/2 years ago of Medicare fraud who protested that he just wasn’t ready to go to prison--he had places to go, people to see, and besides, he left his car parked outside the courthouse.

Victory however went to the prosecutor, who commented that prison is, by design, an inconvenient place to go.

Dr. Alan R. Schankman, a former North Hollywood eye surgeon who has been free on $250,000 bail since he was convicted on 36 counts of grand theft in 1991, told Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Stephen D. Peterson that he had not expected to be taken immediately to prison Thursday.

He was scheduled to testify in Glendale at another doctor’s trial that afternoon, he said. His wife and four children were back in New York. And what would become of his car?

Schankman, who prosecutors say is suspected of overbilling Medicare by more than $1 million for phony eye operations, pleaded with Peterson to allow him to remain free on bond while he appealed his 16-month prison sentence.

But Peterson said Schankman’s time had run out: “I want to make it clear that if people deal fast and loose with the Medicare system, the day of reckoning surely will come.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” the 46-year-old Schankman protested, pointing his index finger in the air. “It’s just that, to go away now . . . I’m in the middle of things that have to be finished. I can’t just stop in the middle.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert J. Schuit pointed out that going to prison is usually inconvenient for a defendant.

It is meant to be, he said.

Schankman’s protests continued, “Your honor, you know, what do I do with my car? I parked it on the street. I need some time with my attorneys.”

“You can talk with them in the lockup,” the judge responded. “I pronounced sentence over (two) years ago. It’s time you served it. I wish you luck, Dr. Schankman.”

“Can I get a drink of water?” Schankman finally asked.

A few seconds later, a bailiff ordered, “Put your hands down,” and handcuffed Schankman. Outside, in the corridor, his tie and watch were removed, and he was led away.

“It’s unusual,” defense attorney Harland W. Braun said, shaking his head. “The judge wouldn’t let him put his affairs in order or get his car off the street, then smiled at him and wished him good luck. I think that’s hypocrisy.”

Schankman, a former Hidden Hills resident who has been living in New York, said in court he has sold his North Hollywood medical practice, which he said was ruined by the fraud case.

During a six-week trial that ended in late 1991, Schuit contended that Schankman was “a thief in a white coat” who billed Medicare $1,600 for each of more than 30 eye operations he never performed. Though Schankman was prosecuted only for those phony billings, his total suspected Medicare thefts topped $1 million, Schuit said. Schankman submitted claims for 687 operations between 1987 and 1989, Schuit said.

Schuit said Schankman performed cataract operations on elderly Medicare patents, but left tight sutures in their eyes, which caused astigmatism. Several weeks later, he removed the sutures in his office, billing Medicare for a more complicated procedure called a “corneal wedge resection” to cure astigmatism.

The procedure, dubbed the “Schankman wedge” during the trial, is rarely performed, Schuit said.

Braun contended during the trial that Schankman was the victim of his employees’ sloppy billing procedures and murky government regulations.

In addition to the prison term, Schankman has been ordered to pay a $686,000 fine.

A complaint, filed against him on Sept. 20, 1993, is pending before the Medical Board of California. If it is upheld, Schankman’s medical license could be suspended or revoked.