Disbarred Nassau Doctor Admits To Illegally Practicing Medicine

A disbarred Westbury plastic surgeon was convicted of performing illegal surgeries and committing disability insurance fraud, the New York Attorney General announced on Monday.

Brad Jacobs, 56, was found guilty of engaging in a 4-year-long scheme to perform illegal surgeries on patients and commit a massive disability insurance and welfare fraud scheme. Jacobs pleaded guilty on Monday to third-degree grand larceny, two counts of unauthorized practice of a profession and first-degree scheme to defraud in New York County. Last week, he pleaded guilty to second-degree insurance fraud and third-degree welfare fraud in Nassau County Court.

Jacobs is set to be sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison and pay a judgement of more than $425,000.

“Practicing medicine without a license jeopardizes the lives of New Yorkers, undermines our healthcare system, and diminishes the work of licensed doctors committed to the health and safety of their patients,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “This defendant not only endangered patients, but also stole public benefits intended to aid the most vulnerable among us. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who commit fraud at the expense of New Yorkers.”

According to James, Jacobs was licensed to practice medicine in 1988 and practiced until June 18, 2007, when the New York State Department of Health's Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) invoked its emergency powers to suspend his license and shut down his practice. Jacobs was charged with 29 specifications of Professional Medical Misconduct, including gross negligence, incompetence and moral unfitness related to his performance of surgeries, including breast augmentation, tummy tucks, liposuction and rhinoplasty.

In September 2007, Jacobs surrendered his license to practice medicine. Jacobs was not only barred from practicing medicine, but it also prohibited him from sharing office space in which another doctor provided health care services, and from sharing or receiving any fee for professional services.

Between September 2012 and June 2016, Jacobs defrauded patients undergoing costly cosmetic surgery procedures – each averaging between $8,000 and $10,000 – by falsely representing that he was authorized to practice medicine. The investigation revealed that, over the course of four years, Jacobs, along with a licensed physician, performed surgeries on over 60 patients, along with scores of additional medical procedures including Botox and injectables. Many of those who had procedures performed were either former patients of Jacobs or individuals referred by Jacobs’ former patients.

Jacobs concealed his ongoing illegal practice and his associated income from both his disability insurance carrier and the Nassau County Department of Social Services (DSS). Prior to losing his medical license, Jacobs had purchased a disability insurance policy with Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company. After losing his license in 2007, Jacobs filed a disability claim with Northwestern. A settlement was reached in June 2013, in which Jacobs received a lump sum payment of $750,000 and ongoing payments of more than $100,000 per year from Northwestern, payable to a trust established for his benefit. However, in order to qualify for ongoing disability payments, Jacobs was required to file annual statements with Northwestern certifying that he was not employed or otherwise practicing as a doctor. From 2014 to 2017, Jacobs filed four such annual statements with Northwestern, in which he falsely certified that he was no longer engaged in the practice of medicine, and received more than $360,000 in disability insurance payments over that time.

The investigation further revealed that while Jacobs was receiving these vast sums of money from Northwestern – totaling over $1.3 million – he filed sworn documents with the government certifying that he was in need of, and entitled to receive, food stamp benefits. Between 2013 and 2017, Jacobs filed eight recertification statements with the Nassau County DSS which affirmed, under penalty of perjury, his continued eligibility to receive food stamps. In every recertification, he concealed the payments he received from Northwestern, the income from his unauthorized medical practice and his additional income of nearly $100,000 from a start-up skin care company, Nouveau Genesis. In total, Jacobs collected almost $13,000 in food stamp benefits between 2013 and 2017.

Jacobs is scheduled to be sentenced in New York County on March 20 and in Nassau County on March 1.

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