By Tresa Baldas
A Birmingham neurosurgeon pleaded guilty to performing unnecessary spinal surgeries on patients and then unlawfully billing the government and private insurance companies $11 million for the operations, the U.S. Attorneys office announced today.
Dr. Aria Sabit, 39, entered guilty pleas in two separate cases before U.S. District Judge Paul Borman, admitting he convinced patients to undergo spinal fusion surgeries with medical stabilizing devices that he actually never used, but billed public and private healthcare programs for it. In some instances, Sabit admitted that he billed insurance programs for implants, when in fact the implants were tissue. 
Since 2011, Sabit owned and operated the Michigan Brain and Spine Physicians Group with various locations in metro Detroit, including Southfield, Clinton Township and Dearborn. He pleaded guilty to four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, resulting in losses to Medicare, Medicaid and various private insurance companies.