The federal government seized nearly five million dollars from more than a dozen bank accounts they say were used by a Solon doctor accused of drug trafficking and money laundering. He had been churning out painkiller prescriptions to people he barely examined, they say, oftentimes seeing up to 80 cash-paying patients per day for just minutes at a time. Oxycodone, morphine, Oxymorphone, Hydrocodone: all the good stuff people get hooked on.
Dr. Syed J. Akhtar-Zaidi, who ran the Pain Management of Northern Ohio clinic in Solon, became a DEA target in September 2012 when five undercover agents began showing up, posing as patients in moderate, but never severe, pain.
The doctor charged each undercover agent $300 on their first visit and $95 when they’d show up again for more pills; everything paid to the clinic was in cash. On their first visits, Zaidi “performed at best a cursory examination and then prescribed Schedule II and II pain medication drugs to treat the claimed condition,” the forfeiture complaint says.
Then, “during subsequent visits, the undercover officers would request higher dosages or more habit-forming drugs. In response to those requests, Zaidi would oblige the undercover officers by prescribing increasingly more habit-forming drugs without conducting a thorough medical examination,” it says. Here are some details:
Undercover officers were each seen by Zaidi on five or six occasions between September of 2012 and May of 2013. Zaidi spent, on average, only three minutes with each of the undercover officers during visits to PMNO. Zaidi never required the undercover officers to obtain an MRI, an x-ray, or attend physical therapy. … In no case did any of the undercover officers ever claim unbearable pain, the undercover officers having reported the pain to be no more than a four on a pain scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst. Zaidi continued to prescribe Schedule II and Schedule III pain medication drugs even though the undercover officers would report as low as two on the pain scale during many of their visits.
The complaint lays out what the doctor prescribed three of the undercover agents:
*Agent #1, for a claim of “nagging stiffness/discomfort in the officer’s back during a four month period”: 308 tablets of Percocet, 84 tablets of 10-mg Oxycontin and 126 tablets of 15-mg Oxycontin.
*Agent #2, for a claim of “nagging stiffness/discomfort in the officer’s back during a six month period”: 434 tablets of Percocet, 84 tablets of 10-mg Oxycontin and 84 tablets of 15-mg OxyContin.
*Agent #3, for a claim of “a dull ache in the left knee during a four month period”: 224 tablets of Vicodin and 224 tablets of Percocet.
Agents also reviewed the doctor’s sign-in sheets: “it was not uncommon for Zaidi to see as many as 60 to 80 patients a day. On at least one occasion during this period, Zaidi saw 92 patients during a single day.”
The Ohio Pharmacy Board’s automated prescription reporting system shows that from September 2011 through September 2013, prescribed: “Oxycodone products totaling 1,131,920 dosage units, morphine products totally 217,897 dosage units, and oxymorphone products totaling 150,803 dosage units. These three controlled substances are highly abused controlled substances.”
The feds also reviewed Zaidi’s finances, alleging his personal bank accounts, accounts belonging to the clinic and accounts in his wife’s name were used to launder the cash he was getting with the clinic. Here’s how they say he did it:
Zaidi conducted a complex series of financial transactions involving co-mingling of funds amongst the Defendant accounts, in an effort to disguise the true source of the illicit proceeds, that being Zaidi’s drug trafficking activity.
Zaidi violated federal criminal statutes and the proceeds generated through his practice at PMNO are therefore illicit. The pattern of activity amongst his accounts is a traditional method of laundering criminal proceeds. More specifically, the illicit funds were placed within one of the numerous financial accounts, then moved to multiple other accounts to create confusion as to the original source of the funds, that is Zaidi’s drug trafficking activity. Ultimately, the proceeds were funneled to money market accounts and/or Ameriprise investment portfolios and/or Genworth financial retirement account controlled by Zaidi where they could continue to accrue value based upon market performance, then redeemed as dividend payments thus, successfully “laundering” the criminal proceeds and allowing for “clean” integration back into the financial system.
Zaidi maintained and/or controlled at least twelve bank accounts with two banks, at least three investment portfolios with Ameriprise Financial, and one retirement account with Genworth. All Defendant accounts are linked together in that they were used to facilitate monetary transactions which resulted in the laundering of proceeds from Zaidi’s drug trafficking activity. Between 2010 and 2013, the proceeds circulating through the four PMNO business accounts (two checking, two money markets) from both First Merit Bank and PNC Bank exceeded $9,800,000 in deposits and exceeds $9,500,00 in withdrawals.
Agents seized those accounts in October, and it just became public record now. They also conducted a search warrant on his house in Solon, and seized $90,000 in jewelry they say was purchased with the drug trafficking money. All the money and jewelry are not in possession of the federal government.
Read the full forfeiture complaint here:
Dr. Syed J. Akhtar Zaidi – forfeiture complaint (PDF)
Dr. Syed J. Akhtar Zaidi – forfeiture complaint (Text)
This article appears in Jan 1-7, 2014.
When a Dr. Feelgood feeds the celebrities, it is done so quietly…….when it is found on Main Street – it is an incredible, shocking crime by all involved.
wow..
its still confiscation without a conviction ya know one of the reasons that caused the American revolution and one of the things made unlawful by that illusion we call the bill of rights…
Ninety-two patients times $300 a visit (If they were all first-time visitors that day) … $27,600 in one day. I bet the feds are examining his finances!! LOL
I was a patient with documented L-3 ,L4,L5 herniations.Canal stenoiuos,severe between L3,L4.Foraminal stenoiuos.C1,C2 herniations.Rhumatoid arthritis.Never did I witness 80 patients a day.If so he hid it well. But who gets fucked I do when they nixed my meds.
Yeah, he was living the high life, raking in all that cash. I bet you the IRS will be taking their cut, plus interest.
bubbylou i was a patient there as well. would u like to chat or something?
This man is my father. He is an immigrant physician who proved to his daughters that this great country was the only one where we could succeed without discrimination. It gave me and my sisters everything I have, and I’m not going to let these guys smear it with these bogus allegations.
Special Agents of this task force are seizing assets for the purpose of operational funding and the Attorney for racking up prosecutions. Anyone ever hear of a DAG-71? Look it up.
SA Tyler Parkison et al of the DEA “Special” task force have been screwing around unsuccessfully to get a nice trophy arrest since their coming out party in the summer of 2012 with Sherrod Brown, Eric Holder et al. Now they are under pressure and going after this man, my father. Read about them. I wonder what of our property they’ve claimed on their DAG-71s… anyone interested in real reporting should go find out.
It’s kind of embarassing, that cops in Watertown MA have more guts and integrity in stopping the Marathon criminals than the DEA has in actually helping Cleveland. I thought the Fed agencies were so professional and just awesome after April here in Boston but I guess the guys in Cleveland are your C- kind of bottom of the barrel guys.
Not so easy to go after real drug lords in Cleveland. Tax paying, law abiding citizens are just an easy target.
It’s not just doctors that should know. It’s ALL of you reading. I encourage *everyone* to go read about the war on doctors and civil asset forfeiture.
I can prove in a court of law that this whole “investigation”, which consisted of lazy snooping around and fabricating some bs, was at least *partially* motivated by religious discrimination and I can promise you that Parkison, Brennan et al will be sued for violating the civil rights act before judge and jury.
No trophy case for you guys. This is the one that gets you demoted and pisses off everyone you work for.
Patients on this site do NOT take the bait of un-identified individuals i.e. DEA posing as other patients for the purposes of obtaining information from you under false pretenses.
Doug Brown’s “passion” for investigative journalism seen here, with a nice copy-paste job off of government postings. He didn’t bring a single thought of his own here. He didn’t even think to contact the Zaidi family for comment before pasting-publishing.
One would never get away with being so sloppy at the Plain Dealer.
BBStJoe, I am so sorry this has happened to your family. I, too, am one of your father’s patients. He exceeded the safety protocols suggested by the DEA, for goodness sakes! Your dad is NOT a drug dealer. I have a great deal of pain that has been proven via x-ray and MRI, not to mention congenital musculoskelatal abnormalities. I still couldn’t get more than two weeks worth of meds at a time and had to actually see him at least once a month. He wouldn’t even take me as a new patient without x-rays and other documentation of need. I have no idea what the hell these feds are talking about. *sigh* I’ve probably earned myself yet more paperwork in my FBI file, but I don’t care. This is just wrong. You’ve got my support.
BBStJoe, if you’re reading this, please have your father’s attorney contact me. I’d be happy to testify for him should he go to trial. I won’t share my name publicly, but if your dad has his records, my initials are TAD. I’m also “ReallyInPain.”
In case you’re wondering why I am offering to testify, it’s because my family doctor, who’s known me for nearly 20 years, knows that I’m not an addict, knows that I am not doing anything other than attempting to have a life and DO have every condition I’ve described to her and can document it because she was part of the team that diagnosed me OR that I can document it with records from another hospital, would not continue prescribing medication that, without which, I will revert to being house- and bed-bound AND go into withdrawal. She gave me a referral to the pain clinic at UH, about the most useless facility in the county. She knows it. I know it. The place is a standing joke because they think everything can be treated with nerve blocks. So, they’re going to block my entire body? I don’t think so! I would not allow that. I would take my own life first. In fact, I predict that there will be a lot of people treated in the same manner that I was now that the indictment is public. It’s all a matter of appearances and damn patient health. There’s this notion that, “No body dies from withdrawal, so shut up and just take it, you loser!” Hmm, let me see, I’ve been hospitalized in ICU for chronic vomiting and diarrhea that dehydrated me and crashed my blood pressure. This had zero to do with opiates because I wasn’t on any. But, opiate withdrawal causes diarrhea which, with my condition, I have serious trouble with anyway; vomiting, whether I eat or not, increases the likelihood of dehydration and; if I’m vomiting OR have severe diarrhea, water won’t cut it at all. So, what about the heart palpitations? I guess those are just an urban myth, you know, like dying from withdrawal. I can definitively say that opioid withdrawal will cause heart palpitations. I have a heart murmur already. I guess the stress on my heart is OK because no one ever died from withdrawal!
I have gone through opioid withdrawal by accident several times. In two cases it was because there was a doctor attempting to make me do something illegal OR because I followed the instructions of another doctor not to drive and, well, you know how narcissistic doctors can get! The only thing many of them care about is themselves. They don’t even care about other doctors. So, I got pulled apart and flushed out of a pain program even though the other doctor’s office sent their specific instructions and couldn’t believe what an ass the guy was being. Feuding physicians aside, I’ve had to go through withdrawal most often because I couldn’t get an appointment to see, ironically, (and I really do hate saying this), Dr. Zaidi or because I missed my appointment. I know first-hand about the sweating that won’t stop; the dizziness; the heart palpitations; the agonizing pain that makes you feel like your body is being torn to shreds, which doesn’t stop because you now also have no pain medication for legitimate physical ailments; the diarrhea; nausea; runny nose which gives me a headache as well; irritability (Wouldn’t you be irritable if you had to deal with this mess?), and complete and utter uselessness.
I was about to open my own business–one I could run from bed for a few days if need be as long as I had support people. Goodbye business! I won’t be able to take care of it now because I won’t be in any shape thanks to chronic pain. I can no longer qualify for Medicaid or food stamps because my mother left me an annuity when she died that took me just over the eligibility limits. Actually, I can get Medicaid, but the spend-down would be more than the annuity check, so that’s a non-starter. The feds would rather have me eating out of their hand instead of putting money into it in the form of taxes so a few other people who are more in need than me can eat. This, all in the name of some extremely amorphous idea based on essentially nothing that no one has any need for opiates unless they have cancer, which is essentially what the government is saying and what the totally and completely assanine joke of a pain medicine department at UH believes is true. And because Zaidi is presumed to be guilty, I am presumed to be a drug addict even if I’m not, even if my doctor knows I’m not. What matters is what things appear to be and that’s all.
No one ever stopped to consider how many PATIENTS are going to be hurt by this witch hunt. How many people are going to try getting what should be “medication” via backstreet means? How many people are going to die because they thought they were getting one medication on the street and got another, IF it is a medication at all? How many people in real pain are going to choose to end their lives instead of live it in dire agony? They do have that right. What, pray tell, will those feds who took such pleasure in this arrest say then? Oh, the patients could have gone elsewhere if they were really in pain? Um, no. Not when every doctor in the area is running scared they can’t. Right now, I’m reconsidering my decision to stay in Cleveland. This is where I was born and raised. This is where I wanted to stay to open my business, thereby adding to the economy instead of taking from it. I can’t stay here with no treatment? UH, kiss my fat behind! Your “pain clinic” is a monumental farce. You know it, any real pain patient knows it (unless they have cancer and are going to die anyway, in which case it’s OK to let them have the “real” drugs), I’m sure the medical community knows it and YOU know it.
As I stated, have your father’s attorney call me. And if I get harassed by the feds, which I do not doubt is in the cards, we will all know why.
I too was a patient of Dr. Zaidi. I never witnessed a huge amount of patients, I had to go in every two weeks to pick up my prescriptions. As a matter of fact, he would not give me a prescription without first giving me a nerve block. So, if the feds think a 95 dollar cash payment is a lot, look and see how much a damn nerve block is. And by the way, I have been diagnosed with the same chronic, debilitating, incurable disease by at least ten doctors. And ask Dr. Zaidi to increase your meds? Forget about it, he won’t do it. So, I don’t know what in the hell these government agents are talking about. When they are adding up 93 patients on the sign in sheet, they are neglecting to mention that you MUST see the doctor once a month, which you sign in for, then two weeks later you walk in and pick up the second half of your monthly prescription WHICH YOU ALSO SIGN FOR. So, even if you didn’t technically see the doctor, you still had to sign in to prove that you picked up your prescription.
As for the amount of patients that were on narcotic meds? He’s a PAIN DOCTOR. How many patients at the OBGYN are pregnant? How many have vaginas? Everyone knows that family docs don’t write pain prescriptions, since they are AFRAID of the DEA. Eh, who cares…no one suffers but the pain patients. When there are no doctors left to go to I guess we can all just kill ourselves or take street drugs to alleviate the pain. I mean, it’s easier to go on the corner and buy heroin than it is to get a doctor to write a prescription, even if you have a TON of documentation. Speaking of documentation…I had two MRIs in one year from Dr. Zaidi.
Obviously, this is all a lie. I’m sad for Dr Zaidi and his family. Dr Zaide was compassionate caring doctor. Dr. Zaide exceeded all proticals. He spent the entire hour evaluating me as a new patient. I had nerve blocks and assigned excercises and stretches. He did drug screens and kicked out people that didn’t have clean urines. Saw that with my own eyes. I guess the DEA was taking these scripts and enjoying a buzz since they aren’t really “pain patients.” Rather than upping precriptions level like the agents said my experience was he did not like the prescription amount, I was on and he reduced it. I’ve already written my congress people and the governor for all it’s worth. Speak out don’t be silent. Write the letters.
I had similar experienced doctor and I m law obeying Minority decedent US citizen.This nothing other than FBI scam against minority doctors.This very widespread XENOPHOBIC FBI operation against anybody who has national origin from middle east or other small countries.
They have destroyed my business at the benefit of my competitor.FBI and my lawyers set me lied under the oath so that competitor doctor came to my building after 5 months of FBI raid so competitor can steal my practice.I am not any race and ethnicity but thus actually happened. Prosecutor and FBI intimidated my assistant constantly.FBI tried to bribe my patients indirectly.Later they sued IRS,DEA everything ,Medical Board to destroy my last remaining reputations.They have done many Turkish,Persian doctors.United states no longer represent democracy or equal opportunity but repression against certain ethnic origin no matter how good citizen you are .we entered absolute fascism.I have done nothing against this country and but I can tell to my four kids to serve this country for reasons.I have done nothing useful read in profession for the last decade due to constant harassment.They wasted my decade of life and profession and they achieved nothing at the end destroying my profession which could have been very helpful to society with many talent.Later also I found out that my lawyer was married to top prosecutor and all these layers was part of bug jewish community.I have nothing to say and i filed complains every government department but achieved nothing.They have done nothing any of the wall street thief’s and Barrons but only they now how to raid minority doctors home with 6 month old baby sleeping at home at 3 am.
Dr. Zaidi is a compassionate doctor. He followed all protocols that were neccessary upon treatment. He did random drug screenings and if you had any recreational drugs in you or the drug he was prescribing you was NOT in your system he would immediately stop treating you. He wouldn’t put you on a pain regime without other treatments first, e.g nerve block, steroid shots, etc. This is a prime example where the government sees an immigrant who came to the United States and became successful with his own private practice. The government wants to shut down every private practice and make them instinutionlaized so that they can monitor you like a little kid and control how much you make. Of course if you came in for a checkup for your pain, and there were no concerns or problems, the appointment lasted 10-15 minutes. Thats why its called a check up.When i go to my primary care for a check up, it only takes them that long to go over what is needed. It’s not like Dr. Zaidi is a primary care physician, he is PAIN MANAGEMENT! Instead of the government finding to tactical ways to shut down other doctors, why don’t they worry about the drug lords, human trafficking, and other GOVERNMENT corruptions that go on behind the media. I was wondering why this hasn’t hit the media, as in newspapers and the news channels. Why? Because they don’t have enough hard evidence against him to make it public and not make them look bad. Who cares if he transferred money from account to account. As long as it was all claimed legally, he is entitled to transfer and withdrawal whatever amounts he wants. Any medication can be addicting. They are making it seem that only pain killers are addicting. FALSE, I can make a lengthy list of medications that are. Doctors are there to treat and heal their patients. Its called the HIPPOCRATIC OATH! Where does it say that the government/DEA has control on what doctors can prescrbie? NO WHERE! WELCOME TO SOCIALIZED MEDICINE! Our health care is at risk because of this.
This reporter failed to mention if these new patients (DEA AGENTS) were asked to give a urine sample on thier initial visit?????????????????????????????????????This is just the beginning of my comments….
Also, i forgot to mention it is public information on what doctors prescribed. There is a government website for it and if you type in names of other pain management doctors that are within institutions, they prescribe the same drugs as Dr. Zaidi. Why don’t they get in trouble?!!??!?!?!!?!??!?!?
I,too, am a patient of Dr. Zaidi with FOUR bad discs with EXTREME AMOUNT of pain. Also BROKE my neck and every bone in my face over last summer in an accident. I have a VERY hard 12 hour a night job which i now am in danger of losing due to NO MEDICINE-MEDICINE that took the edge off my pain so that I could not only work but also have a QUALITY of life which I no longer have due to the actions of The DEA. Wow-now government is allowed to tell us what medications a DOCTOR can prescribe?? BULLSHIT. Its still WE,THE PEOPLE-RIGHT?? Dr. Zaidi did EVERYTHING by the book-urine screen-MRI-ETC. So what they(The ASSHOLE DEA AGENTS) have stated is a BLATANT LIE. Dr. Zaidi DOES NOT OVER PRESCRIBE. He is a PAIN DOCTOR. They make those medicines for people-LIKE ME-who NEED it to be able to WORK to provide for my family and,DUH,TAKE AWAY MY CONSTANT,NAGGING,Debilitating PAIN. I’d be interested to see how it would be if something happens to one of those “fine Agents” or one of their loved ones requiring THEM to need such medicines-and have THEM not be able to get them. I wonder how they would feel about what they did if they themselves or one of their loved ones couldn’t get the medicine that would allow them to function somewhat normal and have a quality of life EVERYONE is entitled to. I would LOVE to watch THEM have to see someone they care about be in SUCH PAIN that they sometimes would rather just have it ALL END. GOOD JOB,DEA-I wonder how many suicides you caused? Or how many people decided to turn to HEROIN (which they seem to not be able to do ANYTHING about) Too busy going after foreign Doctors who do everything by the book-AND CARE ABOUT THEIR PATIENTS. I wonder if Heroin Dealers care as much about their customers? You DEA ASSHOLES made a HUGE MISTAKE here-I so hope the Doctor SUES THE LIVING SHIT out of YOU and YOUR BULLSHIT COMPANY. Now not only do I have to deal with this UNENDING PAIN- I have to think-WHATS NEXT WITH “BIG BROTHER”?? We ALL NEED to band together and STOP this Government intrusion into our lives. I for one am SICKENED by what -WE,THE PEOPLE are letting these Agencies get away with
I too was a patient of Dr. Zaidi. I had been seeing him for 11 years. Over that time he has helped me live a more productive life. I have a bad back and a bad knee. When I first started with him I would go to South Point Hospital. My sympathy goes out to his family for this. I think he was a doctor who cared about his patient and did everything he could for them. Now that I had to find another doctor I am suffering with chronic pain and have had a few blocks that have not helped. At least when I went to Dr. Zaidi and he gave me blocks they lasted a few months.
I think it is so bad for the DEA to come in and stop a practice the way they did. A lot of people have and are probably still are having a hard time with getting meds or going through withdraws. They could have at least helped the patients till a new doctor could be found. If they thought he was pill pushing what about all the people you fell were addicted to the pills? There is not enough room in rehabs for people now. Why doesn’t the government start looking at a solution to the problem by making more rehabs for people? Our country has gone too far. They legalize pot but someone who has spent his life helping people gets in trouble. It does not make good sense. What about all the patient’s records? We couldn’t even get those. When trying to find a new doctor that is the first thing we need.
Our Justice System in America needs to be fixed. They say you are innocent until proven guilty, well with all this coming out I feel they are saying he is guilty until proven innocent. He is a pain doctor who should be able to write prescriptions for controlled substances. If you go look at other pain clinics/doctors you will see they too write a lot of controlled substances. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you during this time. I just hope this can get resolved and he can practice again. I would go back to him. He is a caring and understanding doctor who you could talk to about anything.
Listen up PATIENTS OF THE CLINIC, it is time 2 file a CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST THE STATE OF OHIO…..
They need 2 justify the expenses of sitting around doing nothing most of the time like the ford empoyees that leave early and get paid 8 hours.I was a mover 4 18 ot years wish I could leave after 2 hours and get paid 4 8.I am suing bcuz I am bedriden 4 the last 3 months and put on a ton of weight.I will have my day in court
Go look up the petition at First Do No Harm: The DEA targets Physicians who treat their patients pain.There has already been 5,770 Letters and Emails Sent So Far. Go find this and sign it. I have tried to post the link in here but this page for some reason won’t let me. If I can help anyway please let me know.
I had no help from that clinic as far as an explanation or an apology 4 not being able 2 b treated,if he cared so much why didn’t he act like it???.Been a patient for almost 5 yrs.Couldn’t call and at least say there is a problem????Or send out something ???Not a thing sent or said to explain…
Call and I get a brush off..like bla,bla,bla.I think something could have been sent or a card stating sorry for the problem I am having due to legal issues…..
I was a patient at Dr. Zaidi’s pain clinic. He compassionately, comprehensively, and responsibly treated acute injuries of mine when other doctors insisted surgery was my only option. Contrary to the DEA’s assertions, Dr. Zaidi insists that his patients pursue physical therapy and other treatment options in addition to painkillers ONLY when appropriate. He went out of his way to negotiate lower rates for MRIs at local providers to ensure his patients could afford the diagnostic tests necessary to properly treat their conditions.
Dr. Zaidi worked tirelessly his entire life saving up to start his own practice. For a man who has spent his adult life as a physician in the US, $5 million is not an especially large retirement account. But the DEA parades that number as if they seized some cartel’s safe house. Rather, it is the modest savings of a family man and entrepreneur who hopes to send his daughters to good colleges while providing them with a comfortable living.
I have serious issues with the DEA’s handling of this case. The DEA is a historically corrupt and self-interested group which targets minority (often immigrant) owned medical practices and depends on seizures to fund its ongoing operations.
Further, by providing no objective standards for acceptable medical intervention, the DEA can justify prosecuting literally any pain clinic, resulting in a severely lowered standard of care for all patients. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what they mean by a “dosage unit”. I have done considerable research and cannot find those guidelines anywhere. They do not exist. I do know, however, that an effective dose of oxycodone for me is about 1/20th or 1/30th what the dose would be for a chronic pain patient (the majority of his patients, to my understanding). Again, where is the objective standard? Why is the DEA intentionally vague in describing how much medicine is being prescribed? Criminalizing legitimate medicine leaves chronic pain patients in the lurch to pursue the medicine they need through other, often illegal means. All told, the DEA is exacerbating the illegal drug problem through its actions.
Addiction is a medical condition that largely results from untreated mental health problems, and takes the lives of too many Americans. I have lost close friends to heroin and opiate addiction. In one case, that person suffered from an untreated psychiatric condition. In another case, that person’s doctor stopped prescribing him the pain medicine he needed due to pressure from the DEA, and he turned to heroin as a result. The common thread is that doctors are not causing the vast majority of addictions. They should be allowed to treat patients per their extensive training, with oversight, but not labeled as drug dealers and “pill pushers”.
I understand the desire to look for singular causes, boogeymen to blame for society’s problems. But prosecuting doctors will not end the problem of addiction. This policy needs serious rethinking.
Lastly, as Dr. Zaidi’s daughter commented, simply regurgitating police reports is a far cry from good journalism. One would hope Doug Brown would do some research before repeating baseless accusations and tying them to inflammatory search terms like “pill mill”. I guess the Scene isn’t exactly known for its hard-hitting journalism, but a little bit of skepticism would go a long way, Doug.
I wrote a letter to Sherrod Brown today, let’s all do the same and see what we can do to get some oversight into this crooked case against a good man. Good luck to all of you former patients, and I desperately hope you find the medical care you need and deserve.
JDL
this is such bs I was a patient of dr
Zaidi’s I did not see that many people in his office and it is a damn shame because people choose to abuse that we that are in chronic pain have to suffer . they say we left slavery behind ha you better ask somebody. Oh asnd by the way I suffer from sojgrens as well as fybromyalgia along with a few other issues and they keep giving me shit that will not work for me to get thru everyday life
Sign petition for dr Zaidi—-google it— Drop the case against Dr. Syed J Akhtar-Zaid’s Medical Practice and Stop the War on Pain Patients and Providers
Sshould be Zaidi not Zaid typo
Dr Zaidi has been my trusted Physician for 3 years. He always did random drug screening and he tried other alternatives to my pain such as blocks and radiofrequency injections. He gave me 2 MRI’s and an Xray and at one point in time, actually lOWERED the dose of “painkillers” that I was prescribed. He always made me get my prescriptions 2 weeks at a time, with a monthly visit, usually following an injection or a block, some type of alternative to the painkillers. This accusation against him is totally false! He is a good man with a good heart! He was always making me laugh at the visits, treating me like a person, not a number.
DR. ZAIDi game me a full check up also a MRI,also a drugscreen,i ses ee him a a good dr.,also there are two sides to a story,don’t the police always win,RIGHT ??? if he did do that ,i am sure when it comes to money,mot people would do the same,we all make mistakes,that why they call them mitakes,that we all do also,he already lost everything and his children are gonna suffer so the family i guilty before he even goes to court! also if u want a police man ,u will find them at a bar…