Prognosis
Thousands of People’s Insurance Appeals Went to a Doctor Feds Say Is a Fraud
A convicted felon allegedly stole a fellow physician’s identity, revealing cracks in a system that’s supposed to protect patients.
For years, Spyros Panos seemed like a successful orthopedic surgeon, seeing dozens of patients a day and bringing in millions of dollars in fees for his suburban New York medical group.
In fact, he was inflating charges and billing for surgeries he didn’t perform, perpetrating a years-long fraud that culminated in a guilty plea on a single count in federal court in 2013.