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Dr. Mustafa Hares (LinkedIn photo)
Dr. Mustafa Hares, a 79-year-old surgeon from West Bloomfield, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Detroit to one year in prison and ordered to pay $4.8 million in restitution for his role in a $7 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Authorities alleged that between 2019 and 2023, Hares and others participated in a scheme that involved submitting false Medicare claims for psychotherapy services that were never provided.
Hares, along with Mohammed Kazkaz, signed purported patient progress notes that were actually written by people in Mexico rather than by licensed medical providers.
Kazkaz was previously sentenced to 7½ years in prison for his role in the fraudulent scheme.
“This physician abused his medical license and position of trust as a doctor to facilitate a massive health care fraud scheme at the expense of the American taxpayer,” said Detroit U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. in a statement. “We must eradicate fraud.”
