Melgen begs judge to ‘have mercy’
Key remaining issue of sentencing: extent eye doctor bilked Medicare.
WEST PALM BEACH — With his blue jailhouse scrubs and shackled wrists underscoring how far removed he is from his once-sumptuous lifestyle, Dr. Salomon Melgen on Thursday appealed to a federal judge for leniency when he is sentenced on charges of bilking Medicare out of millions by treating scores of elderly patients for a sight-robbing disease they didn’t have.
“I know I have made mistakes,” the wealthy, politically connected Palm Beach County eye doctor told U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra. “But it was always my intent to do everything I could to help my patients . ... I hope you can see your way to have mercy.”
Melgen’s brief statement capped five days of hearings to determine whether he will spend as long as 30 years behind bars after being convicted in April of 67 counts of health care fraud.
In apologizing to his “family, friends and the community,” the 63-year-old physician also made a veiled reference to infidelity, which figured prominently into his recent influence-peddling trial in New Jersey with his longtime friend, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.
“In my personal life, I lost my way at times,” he said as his wife and 33-year-old daughter looked on.
Given the complex issues involved in the case, Marra said he needs time to do research before announcing his decision. After being assured that prosecutors in New Jersey have no immediate plans to retry Melgen and Menendez, he promised to make a decision quickly.
The New Jersey trial ended in November when jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous decision. It included allegations that in exchange for campaign contributions, the powerful Democrat lobbied federal officials to help Melgen get foreign girlfriends into the country.
At Thursday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Stefin made little effort to disguise his contempt for Melgen. He blasted the physician for falsely diagnosing patients with age-related wet
macular degeneration and then subjecting them to painful eye injections and laser treatments to cure a nonexistent malady.
“It was a horrendous, horrible crime — a horrific abuse of his position as a medical doctor,” Stefin said. “To carry out this scheme, this defendant took advantage of elderly, frail and vulnerable patients. He did this to rake in millions and millions of dollars from the Medicare program that he wasn’t entitled to.”
Without saying how long Melgen should spend behind bars, defense attorney Matthew Menchel argued that it should be far less than 30 years — a term he described as a life sentence because the doctor suffers from severe depression and recently had gastric bypass surgery.
Contrary to the picture painted by prosecutors, Menchel insisted Melgen is not a “monster.” He cared deeply about the patients he treated at clinics in West Palm Beach, Wellington, Delray Beach and Port St. Lucie, Menchel said.
Melgen tried experimental techniques in hopes of restoring his patients’ vision, he said. While some might not have had macular degeneration as Melgen claimed, they still benefited from his treatment. “The vast majority of the patients had very sick eyes,” he said.
He pointed to more than 100 letters former patients wrote on Melgen’s behalf. “I walked in blind and now I can see,” he said, quoting one of the letters. He further pointed to Melgen’s charitable work.
Stefin countered by citing 100 letters written by former patients who had far less charitable views. “People felt he destroyed their vision,” he said.
Stefin said Melgen could well afford to be philanthropic. He pocketed $170 million from Medicare, private insurers and patients over six years — money he spent on jets, jewelry, real estate and artwork or tied up in family trusts so it can’t be used to reimburse victims of his massive fraud, Stefin said.
One of the key issues Marra must decide in determining Melgen’s sentence is how much he cost Medicare and private insurers. Federal prosecutors say it was as much as $136 million. His attorneys claim it was about $64,000.
The wide disparity is because prosecutors claim his entire operation was a scam. His defense team contends that many of his patients benefited from the treatment, so it was “medically necessary.”
Settling the disagreement is critical. Under federal sentencing guidelines, the greater the loss, the longer the sentence.