An investigation began after a former assistant who had been let go spoke to the media about the alleged fraud.

George Steven Kooshian, 54, and office assistant Virgil Opinion, 45, face 25 counts of health-care fraud, three counts of making false statements and one count of conspiracy, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeannie Joseph said.

The indictment said Kooshian ordered Opinion and others to cut the doses of medicine used to treat AIDS- and HIV-related problems by one-half or one-quarter or replace the medicine with saline or water injections.

Kooshian then billed medical insurers for full doses of the drugs, some of which were used to treat anemia, sarcoma and numbness, Joseph said.

Former Assistant Talked to Media

Kooshian is also accused of billing companies for treatments after the patients were no longer taking them, or billing as if the medicines were administered in the office when they were injected by patients at home.

Kooshian has said he never injected patients with saline solution and gave patients solutions of multivitamins only when he could not get the drugs.

The investigation began after the doctor let Opinion go, and the former assistant spoke to the media about the alleged fraud, Joseph said. Opinion and a former patient filed a civil suit against Kooshian, which was settled confidentially.