(WWJ) — A doctor from Sterling Heights has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for practicing medicine without a license.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday 54-year-old Husam Thamin Abed will serve his sentence at the Kent County Jail and pay fines and costs of more than $3,500.
In March a Kent County jury convicted Abed of six counts of the unauthorized practice of a health profession.
Abed had practiced at his Grand Rapids clinic as a licensed physician within the specialty of urogynecology, according to Nessel’s office. But in May 2022 the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) began investigating his practices.
With authorization from the Board of Medicine, LARA filed an administrative complaint against Abed which “generally alleged a departure from acceptable medical standards,” according to Nessel’s office.
A week after the complaint was filed, LARA issued a summary suspension of Abed’s license to practice medicine. Abed allegedly "inappropriately treated" minor girls for conditions they did not have.
Investigators with LARA and the AG’s office later learned that Abed continued to treat patients at his clinic after his license had been suspended.
“The health and safety of our community depend on qualified and licensed medical professionals,” Nessel said, per a press release. “Practicing medicine without a license or while that license is suspended is a serious health risk and can expose patients to unsafe or ineffective care. My office takes these violations seriously and will continue to investigate and prosecute those who endanger public health.”
In addition to 30 days in jail, Abed received a $2,000 fine and was ordered to pay another $1,000 in court costs, $60 in DNA costs, a $130 crime victim rights assessment and $340 in state costs.
The case was handled by the attorney general’s Health Care Fraud Division.