Out Now: Doctor Billions

After Derika Moses injured her back at work, she got her spine fused. But after surgery, her pain only got worse. She didn’t know why — until she got a letter in the mail telling her that some of the spinal hardware in her back might be counterfeit. Not sterile. Not FDA approved. Made in a machine shop in Temecula, California. Doctor Billions tells the story of the billion-dollar healthcare fraud that turned thousands of patients into unwitting cogs in a scheme involving dozens of doctors, lawyers and healthcare professionals across the country. At the center of one of the nation's largest healthcare frauds was an elusive man named Michael Drobot. His ambition to turn a Long Beach hospital into a destination for back surgeons was at the expense of thousands of patients blind to what was happening behind the scenes. One whistleblower told me: “I'm looking at the surgery board for tomorrow going, 'These people are f***ed.'” Doctor Billions is hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalist Ben Adair for Sony Music Entertainment’s The Binge. Want the full story? Binge every episode of Doctor Billions ad-free now by subscribing to The ⁠⁠⁠Binge+⁠⁠⁠. You’ll unlock over 60 true crime series instantly and get binge access to drops on the first of every month. Search for the channel on Apple Podcasts or head to ⁠⁠GetTheBinge.com⁠⁠. For behind-the-scenes details, join our free newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/TheBinge⁠⁠⁠. Doctor Billions is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and Western Sound. Follow @sonypodcasts and discover more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠sonymusic.com/podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠podcastchoices.com/adchoices⁠⁠⁠ The Binge — feed your true crime obsession. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 0:02Speaker 00

  When you put your body in the hands of a surgeon, you assume your doctor will do you no harm.

• 0:10Speaker 01

  I'm looking at the surgery board for tomorrow going, "These people are fucked."

• 0:17Speaker 00

  You assume your doctor is in this for something more than just money.

• 0:21Speaker 02

  The patients were never a priority. They were a chess piece in this whole game.

• 0:28Speaker 00

  But when greed replaces care, something absolutely insane happens.

• 0:34Speaker 03

  One doctor says, "Yeah, I did a lumbar fusion. My kickback was $25,000." And the other doctor's going, "Well, I only got $12,000 because I did a neck."

• 0:45Speaker 00

  This is a story about a massive web of fraud and deception. It involved dozens of doctors, lawyers, and medical professionals all over Southern California. A fraud worth over $1 billion.

• 1:01Speaker 02

  Patients were committing suicide, losing their homes, losing their marriages, proven that they had counterfeit screws in their body. That was fact.

• 1:10Speaker 04

  I would catch him at night crying. This is a big buff guy, and it just broke my heart.

• 1:18Speaker 00

  It would take blackmail, subterfuge, spy work, and years to uncover the extent of the crimes.

• 1:25Speaker 05

  I got five or six female FBI agents to play medical marketers, wire them up for recording devices, and just sat back and let these doctors and attorneys talk about how much money they made doing all these bad things.

• 1:41Speaker 00

  From Sony Music Entertainment and Western Sound, this is Dr. Billions.

• 1:46Speaker 03

  Los Angeles is the training ground for all fraud in the United States.

• 1:52Speaker 00

  I'm Ben Adair. Dr. Billions is available now on The Binge. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts to start listening today. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes all at once, ad-free.

• 2:05Speaker 01

  I'm disgusted that I ever even shook these people's hands.