Convicted Oakland County cancer doctor Fata files for compassionate release

Former cancer doctor Farid Fata has been behind bars for 11 years now.

He’s set to be released in 2050 but he recently filed a motion to be released early due to health issues.

His victims and their families have been speaking up saying he needs to stay where he’s at.

“What he did was just horrific,” said Mark Berger of Ferndale.

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Berger’s mother, Ruth Berger, was one of Farid Fata’s patients.  Berger says after his mom went into remission Fata insisted that she continue chemotherapy treatments.

“Fata just said I’m your oncologist, I know how to treat you,” said Berger. “You need to trust me for everything.”

Ruth did as Fata said and continued the treatments although she didn’t need them. She died about two years after this.

“I feel that I was cheated out of my mother’s old age because of that because of him,” said Berger.

In 2014, Fata pleaded guilty to a healthcare fraud scheme that involved giving hundreds of patients chemotherapy they did not need.

He also made millions of dollars from fraudulent billing.

“I was just appalled that someone who would get the trust of their patients and then treat them with something they really didn’t need for financial gain. I just thought it was just the Hippocratic oath, it was everything against that.”

Fata recently filed a motion asking for compassionate release.

He says he had a rare blood disorder and if he doesn’t get out of prison soon, he will die.

“He showed not one of those patients any time of compassion, yet he’s asking for that now,” said Angela Shukwit of Madison Heights.

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Angela Shukwit is an oncology nurse.

She once applied to be a nurse at Fata’s doctor’s office but after one interview she noticed things were terribly wrong.

“I saw one thing after another being done incorrectly, OSHA violations, but the biggest thing was chemotherapy being given incorrectly,” said Shuckwit.

Shukwit never accepted the position at Fata’s office and immediately reported him to the state medical board after her interview.

Here’s some of what she said in her report back in 2010.

“Patients are being harmed because the chemotherapy and supportive therapy they are being given are being given incorrectly and also not when they are not supposed to be given,” said Shukwit.

Shukwit and Mark Berger are both sending letters to the judge on Fata’s case asking that he not be released.

“I think he should spend the rest of his life in jail,” said Mark Beger.

Fata’s victims have until August 26th to send in their statements about their thoughts on Fata’s compassionate release request.

The last time he filed a request like this was in 2020.