Doctor’s Mail Fraud Trial Is Postponed

The federal trial of Dr. Sergio C. Stone, set to start Tuesday, will now probably begin this summer, according to attorneys involved in the case.

The postponement came at a pretrial hearing Monday after federal prosecutors sought deletions to the 35-count mail fraud indictment against Stone, the first of UC Irvine’s fertility clinic doctors to stand trial.

Stone and his two medical partners--Ricardo H. Asch and Jose P. Balmaceda--each were indicted last year on 35 counts of mail fraud for allegedly falsely billing insurance companies through the mail. The doctors, who have denied wrongdoing, also face accusations from UCI officials that they stole human eggs and embryos from scores of women and implanted them in others, some of whom gave birth.

Prosecutors say the language changes could mean reducing the number of mail fraud counts against Stone to 25. Prosecutors say they will withdraw a paragraph that accused Stone of improperly billing on behalf of residents-in-training.

“At some point, [the number of counts] gets repetitious,” said Thomas Bienert Jr., the lead prosecutor.

According to Stone’s defense attorney John D. Barnett, it’s common practice for doctors to bill for the services of residents even if the supervising doctor is not present. Barnett also said the defense agreed to a postponement to review several thousand pages of new documents received from the prosecution in the last two weeks.

Another hearing is scheduled for May 16, when U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor will set a new trial date.

Stone could receive a maximum fine of $250,000 and five years in prison for each mail fraud count.

Both Asch and Balmaceda left the country almost two years ago. Asch now lives and practices in Mexico City, and Balmaceda works in his native Chile.