TOP STORIES: Chesapeake Regional indicted, VB deputies granted bond, California wildfires
A federal grand jury indicted Chesapeake Regional Medical Center on charges of healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and interference with government functions Wednesday. The charges involve the Medical Center's employment of a former gynecologist.
Javaid Perwaiz, was arrested in 2019 for prompting unnecessary surgeries and submitted fictitious claims to healthcare benefit programs for reimbursement. He was convicted of 52 counts of health care fraud and false statements in health care matters and sentenced to 59 years in prison back in November 2020.
According to the U.S. attorney, CRMC granted Perwaiz with priviliges from 1984 until his arrest in 2019, despite knowing that his privileges were terminated at another hospital for performing unnecessary surgeries and that he was convicted of two federal felonies in 1996.
The U.S. attorney claims that CRMC allegedly received $18.5 million in reimbursements for the surgeries Perwaiz performed and states that he did not act alone.
It is alleged that CRMC employees and practitioners were aware of the discrepancies made, but allowed Perwaiz to continue these practices and continued billing for them.
CRMC lawyers reached out to News 3 to provide a statement on the charges they are facing:
"With great disappointment, we learned today that charges were returned against Chesapeake Regional Healthcare. We look forward to an opportunity to rebut these unfounded charges in court and are confident that the legal process will result in Chesapeake’s exoneration."
Chesapeake Regional indicted for fraud, conspiracy in connection to former OBGYN's unnecessary surgeries
Three former Virginia Beach deputies accused of murder in the death of Rolin Hill were all granted bond Wednesday morning. During the hearing, prosecutors showed body camera footage of Hill's treatment during the booking process.
Eric Baptiste, 39, of Virginia Beach; Michael Kidd, 39, of Chesapeake; and Kevin Wilson, 34, are charged with second-degree murder, according to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Baptiste and Kidd also face assault and battery charges, with five counts against Baptiste and two against Kidd.
In the video played in court with audio, the deputies can be heard telling Hill to stop resisting while he is being punched in the neck and head area.
At one point in the video shown in court, Hill is stripped fully nude with his stomach on the ground. The defense argued that it’s not unusual for all clothes to be removed in this situation.
Prosecutors said after deputies leave Hill lying on the floor, over six minutes go by until someone checks on him. CPR was then performed, but Hill was already dead at that point, prosecutors added.
The judge set bail at $5,000 and required the men's passports to be turned over, but gave no restrictions on movement.
'Horrific' bodycam footage shows former VBSO deputies booking Rolin HillSeveral fires in California have engulfed different parts of LA county leaving five dead. The two largest fires in the Palisades and Eaton have yet to be contained.
The Palisades Fire was the first to be reported at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. According to officials, the fire now covers over 17,000 acres. It has destroyed 300 structures, although officials say over 1,000 buildings have likely been damaged.
The Eaton Fire started in northern Los Angeles County on Tuesday night. Around 40,000 people received an evacuation order and five died in the fire. The fire has consumed over 10,600 acres.
Another fire ignited near the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday night.
Officials say the rapid spread of the fires can be attributed to a lack of precipitation and very strong winds.
This morning's weather: Could snow end this cold and windy week?
Meteorologist Myles Henderson says it is cold and windy again today. Highs will return to the mid 30s but it will feel more like the mid 20s with a NW wind at 15 to 25 and gusts to 35 mph. Expect mostly sunny skies again today.
Highs will return to the upper 30s on Friday and winds will back down. Expect sunshine in the morning with clouds building in by midday. Snow showers will move in from west to east after 6 pm.
Winter Storm Watch in effect from 7 PM Friday to 1 PM Saturday for most of Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina.
For the latest weather updates, watch Myles live on News 3 This Morning here.
This morning's traffic:
So far this morning, there haven’t been any major traffic incidents in our area.
Interactive Traffic Map
For the latest traffic updates, watch Conor live on News 3 This Morning here.
We Follow Through: Investigating what happens to unclaimed property
News 3 identified how the unclaimed property process works in Virginia—and how some think it needs to change. Unclaimed property covers a wide range of things, including old utility deposits, stocks, bond dividends, insurance proceeds, and in very rare cases, physical property
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a broken process. You've identified that for me," said Delegate Cliff Hayes (D-91).
Unclaimed property is mostly money turned over to the Virginia Department of Treasury. Companies are legally required to do this when they can't find the rightful owner.
News 3 met with the Department of Treasury back in April to learn how it works.
"Do you think we do a good job in the state of Virginia? I think we do a great job," said Bradley Earl, director of VA Unclaimed Property.
The Treasurer's Office told us then that they had hired more people and set a record in paying out over $83.3 million while surpassing over 70,000 claims for the second year in a row.
We continued to follow through and pressed them about how much money they had in total. They said $3.6 billion—not the $2 billion they had been telling us for years.
Our investigation revealed that in the past 10 years they've generated $26 million in interest—with $10 million collected in 2024 alone; the Treasurer cited higher interest rates in that year.
"Don't put that money in the bank and earn interest off of it what's not yours? It's belonging to the people," said Delegate Cliff Hayes (D-91).
Now, Delegate Cliff Hayes and Delegate Phil Hernandez have introduced bills that would ease Virginia law and make it easier for the Treasurer to send people their money.
Under the current law, people are required to file claims.
Under House Bill 1606, claims owed to an individual under $5,000 would be sent out automatically—without a claim being filed.
"Over the years, people have put up barriers for their agency or their department, and they act as though they own this data. Right? It's their data. Well, that's not helping the whole," said Delegate Cliff Hayes (D-91).
If the bills pass, the new laws would take effect July 1.
Watch the full story on News 3 This Morning here.
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