Tehachapi Gynecologist Spent 6 Months in Jail For Implanting Women with Non-FDA Approved IUDs
Dr. Paul S. Singh is currently serving one year of home detention after pleading guilty to charges that he deceived his patients and defrauded Medicare by implanting his patients with non-FDA approved IUDs purchased on the Internet.
Earlier this year, a Southern California gynecologist, Dr. Paul S. Singh was sentenced to 6 months in prison, along with one year of home detention after accepting a guilty plea on mail fraud charges, 23ABC News reports. In July he was ordered by the court to pay more than $66,000 in restitution to the various insurance providers he defrauded.
According to the FDA, “The insertion of a non-FDA-approved copper IUD risks a patient’s safety. It can result in an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, hysterectomy, and other serious complications.” Dr. Singh “bought unapproved IUDs on the Internet but fraudulently billed his patients and their insurers as if he had inserted FDA-approved IUDs, all without the permission or consent of his patients.”
Dr. Singh’s plea agreement states, “Multiple patients of defendant Singh complained to him of discomfort and complications they associated with the non-FDA approved IUD that the defendant Singh inserted in them. In response, to some of those patients’ complaints, defendant Singh attempted to reinsert a patient’s non-FDA approved copper IUD.”
Singh’s plea agreement also describes how after one of his patient’s complained repeatedly, Singh simply replaced the old non-FDA approved IUD with a new non-FDA approved IUD.
According to his plea agreement, Dr. Singh billed at least 100 different health care benefit programs or insurers for the non-FDA approved IUDs he implanted in his patients, claiming all the while that they were genuine, FDA approved IUDs.
According to 23ABC News, several of Singh’s patients had to change doctors to get the fake IUDs removed.
“In August 2010, agents from the FDA confronted Singh about his history of implanting unapproved IUDs. During the meeting, Singh agreed to stop implanting them in his patients. Agents later conducted a search warrant of Singh’s office in 2012 and learned that he had continued to implant unapproved IUDs in his patients,” the FDA reports.
The Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation of Dr. Singh. Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick R. Delahunty and Kirk E. Sherriff prosecuted Dr. Singh.
By S. Imber