PHILADELPHIA – A Florida cardiologist has been charged with falsifying heart exams for patients seeking damages in diet-drug lawsuits.
Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia say Dr. Abdur Razzak Tai (TIE) falsely claimed that some of the 1,100 patient charts he reviewed showed heart damage when they did not.
Prosecutors say Tai agreed to review the charts for lawyers suing over damages linked to the diet drug Fen-Phen.
They say one lawyer paid the Orlando doctor $100 to review charts — but paid him $1,500 if the patient qualified for benefits.
Defense lawyer Victor Martinez says the 77-year-old Tai looks forward to defending the charges in Tuesday's indictment.
Thousands of lawsuits over Fen-Phen have been consolidated in Philadelphia since the diet drug was pulled from the market in 1997.
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