Melgen jury deliberates first day; no verdict yet

WEST PALM BEACH — After a nearly two-month trial and getting last-minute instructions on the law, a federal jury Wednesday began deciding whether Dr. Salomon Melgen is guilty of 76 charges of health care fraud.

The 12 jurors began deliberating at mid-morning and retired for the day just before 5 p.m. without reaching a verdict. They will resume this morning.

With dozens of charges to consider and complex medical procedures and legal issues to weigh, the jury isn’t expected to reach a decision quickly.

Melgen, 62, is accused of bilking Medicare out of as much as $105 million.

Federal prosecutors claim he misdiagnosed and mis- treated scores of patients to rake in millions from the federal insurer. To underscore the depths of hi s alleged fraud, prosecutors claim he sent Medicare hundreds of bills for his tests of people with prosthetic, blind and shrunken eyes.

D u r i n g c l o s i n g a r g u - ments Monday, his attorneys attributed some of the bills to sloppy record-keeping. Admitting Melgen made mistakes, attorney Matthew Menchel insisted prosecutors turned a civil case into a criminal one.

While Melgen could and has been sued for malpractice, Menchel insisted he committed no crime. Melgen also faces corruption charges in New Jersey with his longtime friend, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.