United States Attorney's Office Assembles a Team of Specialists to Assist Former Patients/Family Members of Dr. Farid Fata

United States Attorney Barbara McQuade today announced that her office has put together a team of specialists to assist former patients and family members of Dr. Farid Fata in completing the restitution claim form.   Fata was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for providing medically unnecessary chemotherapy treatments to patients.  The government has seized approximately $11.9 million and is encouraging and reminding victims to file claims before the filing deadline of October 5, 2016.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been working with the Crimes Services Commission for the State of Michigan and a team of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and CPA organizations to offer assistance to victims at no charge.  The assistance will be provided starting on September 6, 2016 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday and will take place at Common Ground, located at 1200 North Telegraph Road, Building 32 East, Pontiac, Michigan 48341.  While walk-ins will be accepted, victims are encouraged to schedule an appointment and can do so by calling the current Fata claims toll free number at 1-877-202-3282.  The toll free line will begin accepting calls to schedule appointments on Thursday, September 1 at 3:00pm.  Depending on the complexity of the claim victims will be assisted by either a victim advocate specialist or a CPA or both.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to thank Director James McCurtis and Program Specialist Leslie O’Reilly of the Crimes Services Commission of Michigan, Mark Davidoff, CPA, Michigan managing partner Deloitte LLC, Marshall Hunt, Director of Tax Policy and Advocacy at the Accounting Aid Society and Jean Jernigan, Vice President of Business Development at the Michigan Association of CPAs for their assistance in this effort.

In addition, we have prepared two information sheets to help claimants understand how to complete the Claim Forms as efficiently as possible and to make the filing process easier.  Those can be accessed through the website www.fataclaims.com on the homepage.  The two documents are:

• How to Prove What Victim Paid or Owed
• Listing Multiple Expenses
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If you have questions about these documents, please call the phone staff at 1-877-202-3282.  You can also view and download copies of these documents on the website at www.fataclaims.com.  

We are also reminding victims that they can file claims for their out-of-pocket physical and mental health remedial treatments needed as a result of the treatment they received from Fata.  The last date you can be reimbursed for remedial treatment is September 6, 2016.  We are encouraging physicians who are currently treating former patients of Fata to sign the necessary forms regarding remediation in an effort to help victims pay for the cost of their treatment.

United States Attorney McQuade stated, “We recognize that the process of filling out a restitution claim form can be an extremely difficult process both emotionally and physically for victims and their families.  While no amount of money can restore what has been taken away by the actions of Fata, we hope that with the added assistance we can attempt to give back as much of the seized funds as we can.”