The lawsuits and disciplinary actions against Dr. Fadi Bejjani, a New Jersey physician who ran a Parsippany-Troy Hills practice called Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery, unfolded across two states and two court systems between 2011 and 2015. He lost his New York medical license, was suspended in New Jersey over allegations involving surgeries he was not qualified to perform and gross negligence with at least nine patients, served six months in federal prison for filing a false tax return, and was indicted for seeing an undercover investigator after his license had been suspended.
The New York License Loss
Bejjani held medical licenses in both New York and New Jersey. His problems started in New York, where the State Board of Professional Medical Conduct found him guilty of negligence, moral unfitness, and willful harassment of a patient after a May 2011 hearing. The board sustained three additional negligence charges tied to procedures performed in 2003 and 2004, finding they were not “justified by the medical facts.”1Utica Observer-Dispatch. Former Area Doctor Surrenders Medical License
In early December 2011, the board suspended his license for two years and required a chaperone at any patient examination or treatment. Days later, on December 5 and 6, he was accused of seeing patients and prescribing medication in violation of that order. Rather than fight the new allegations at a hearing, Bejjani surrendered his New York license in late February 2012.1Utica Observer-Dispatch. Former Area Doctor Surrenders Medical License
Federal Tax Fraud Conviction
In a separate federal matter, Bejjani pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Syracuse to filing a false income tax return. He owed $164,409 in back taxes for the years 2005 through 2008.2Utica Observer-Dispatch. Ex-Utica Doctor Admits Filing False Tax Return
U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue sentenced him to six months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release with six months of home detention, and ordered him to pay a $20,000 fine. He was directed to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on January 29, 2013.3FBI Albany. New Hartford Physician Sentenced for Tax Evasion
The New Jersey Suspension and What He Was Accused Of
On June 5, 2012, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Consumer Affairs filed a five-count complaint against Bejjani before the State Board of Medical Examiners. The complaint pulled together a wide set of allegations:
- Performing cosmetic and spinal procedures, including liposuction, breast augmentations, breast reductions, and spinal fusions, without the training or expertise those surgeries required.
- Gross negligence, malpractice, or incompetence in the treatment of at least nine patients.
- Failing to report the death of a patient at his AMIS practice.
- Failing to notify the board of prior DUI charges and the pending New York disciplinary case.
- Moral turpitude, based on the federal guilty plea for filing false tax returns.
The board concluded that Bejjani’s continued practice posed “a clear and imminent danger to the public.” On June 13, 2012, he agreed to an Interim Consent Order temporarily suspending his New Jersey medical license. Under the order he could not practice medicine or receive professional fees, and he was required to return his license and his controlled substance registration. The order stated that the agreement did not constitute an admission of guilt.4NJ Division of Consumer Affairs. Interim Consent Order, Fadi Joseph Bejjani, M.D.
The Undercover Visit and Criminal Indictment
Investigators alleged Bejjani kept seeing patients anyway. On July 26, 2012, an undercover investigator from the Division of Consumer Affairs visited his Parsippany office asking about cosmetic surgery. According to prosecutors, Bejjani conducted a physical examination, took measurements of the investigator’s breast and stomach area, gave a diagnosis, quoted a price for a “tummy tuck,” accepted a consultation fee, and handed over consent forms and pre-operative instructions.5Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. Parsippany-Troy Hill Doctor Indicted for Alleged Practice of Medicine After License Was Suspended
He was arrested on August 2, 2012, and held in the Morris County Jail on $100,000 bail.6NJ.com. Parsippany Doctor Arrested for Practicing Medicine Without License5Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. Parsippany-Troy Hill Doctor Indicted for Alleged Practice of Medicine After License Was Suspended7Patch.com. Doctor Illegally Performed Surgeries on at Least 9 Patients
The 2015 Appeals Ruling on What Counts as Practicing Medicine
The criminal case turned on a definitional fight. In 2014, a Morris County Superior Court judge dismissed one of the two counts, reasoning that there was insufficient proof Bejjani “had actually rendered any treatment” because no surgery had been performed. The second count, holding himself out as a medical doctor, was allowed to proceed.8NJ.com. Appeals Court Reinstates Charge Against Doc Who Allegedly Practiced After Suspension
On February 4, 2015, a New Jersey state appeals court reversed the dismissal and reinstated the practicing-without-a-license charge. The panel held that conducting a physical examination, taking body measurements, and rendering a diagnosis “comfortably fit within the common understanding of the ‘practice of medicine.'” The case was returned to Superior Court for trial.8NJ.com. Appeals Court Reinstates Charge Against Doc Who Allegedly Practiced After Suspension
What the Public Record Does Not Show
The available record does not indicate how the reinstated criminal case was ultimately resolved, whether by trial, plea, or dismissal after the 2015 appellate ruling. Reporting available in the file stops at the remand.
A Different Dr. Bejjani in Pittsburgh
Searches for “Dr. Bejjani lawsuit” also turn up an unrelated physician, Ghassan K. Bejjani, a Pittsburgh neurosurgeon connected to a long-running False Claims Act case against UPMC and to a separate dispute over Chiari malformation surgeries. That is a different person and a different set of cases from the New Jersey matters described above.