Years after the Medicare fraud case, a Metro Detroit podiatrist is suing the federal government, claiming their investigation destroyed his career and livelihood.
Dr. Anthony Weinert was among 53 people charged in 2019 with billing Medicare for unnecessary medical procedures.
The federal government dismissed the case against him in 2023.
The lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also includes Special Agent Aaron Hann, who worked on the case.
The suit alleges Hann falsified claims.
“This was a botched investigation,” attorney Nabih Ayad said.
Weinert, who practiced for nearly two decades, operated clinics in Warren and Troy and was the former chief of podiatric medicine and surgery at Henry Ford County Hospital in Warren.
He also ran a nonprofit that provided shoes to unhoused people and veterans.
According to the complaint, after he was charged in 2019 and for four years afterward, Weinert wasn’t able to bill Medicare, which his attorneys said was the insurance many of his clients used.
As a result, they said he could no longer sustain his practices and was forced to shut both offices.
He said he then struggled to find other work and provided Local 4 with an email showing he was denied a job with Instacart. He now clips toenails and drives for DoorDash part-time.
“I had to do what I had to do for my family because we had bills to pay, and we went through all of our life savings, all my retirement,” Weinert said. “We’re in the process of losing our home.”
Ayad said that even though the criminal case was dropped, “Dr. Weinert, his life [is] devastated.”
Weinert grew emotional as he spoke about the patients he can no longer see.
“I miss my patients,” Weinert said. “They’re like family to me. Every patient I see, and they know me as a doctor, and I provided the utmost care to them.”
The lawsuit seeks 50 million dollars in damages and accountability from the government, according to Weinert and his attorneys, who said they want him to be able to return to practicing medicine.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.