NORFOLK, Va. — Wednesday, a federal courtroom heard closing arguments from both sides in the case of Dr. Javaid Perwaiz.
During the closing remarks, a federal prosecutor said Perwaiz was the “conductor of the train of deception.”
He said the defendant is someone who used the bodies of his patients to defraud insurance companies.
During the rebuttal, the prosecuting attorney showed the jury pictures of the dozens of women, who were former patients of OBGYN Javaid Perwaiz.
Each one with their initials instead of their names, and a story.
Prosecutors said their complaints ranged from being falsely told they have cancer… and having their bladder and uterus unnecessarily removed by Perwaiz.
Others went in for a hysterectomy and ended up with sepsis, and a bladder that was severed six times.
The federal prosecutor said Perwaiz would scare patients into having surgeries so much, one woman took out life insurance before her surgery.
All of the stories are part of the final push for federal prosecutors to find Perwaiz guilty on all counts.
Indictments against Perwaiz show he faces 61 federal charges.
Those include healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft, for allegedly using his patients' Medicare numbers on insurance claims.
This morning, the prosecuting attorney reminded the jury of big moments in the trial.
Even people who worked with the doctor testified in the courtroom, saying he’d provide the “Perwaiz special” for patients - and had scheduled induced child deliveries, before the recommended 39 weeks - so he could do more procedures at a convenient time.
Witnesses testified during the last few weeks, and said he would add procedures on consent forms while patients were under anesthesia.
Insurance companies said Perwaiz claimed to do quadruple the procedures, in some years, compared to other doctors in the region.
An expert doctor also took the stand during the series of court hearings during this case, and said, “Not one procedure, Doctor Perwaiz did, was medically necessary.”
Perwaiz’s defense attorney said his client didn’t deny making mistakes on paperwork and was transparent about changing dates on medical documents, but he did it to help patients - and was not scheming, as federal prosecutors claimed.
Perwaiz’s attorney also said that prosecutors only pulled about 30 cases out of thousands of patients that he’s treated over the last ten years, and that Perwaiz had patients who were loyal and sent family members to him.
Judge Rebecca Beach Smith provided instructions to the jury. They have a lot to go through: 800 exhibits and more than 8,000 pages of medical records.
Now it’s a matter of all 12 jurors unanimously reaching a verdict.