Sentence Next For Rogue Surgeon; Judge To Hear From Patients

DETROIT (AP) — Prosecutors are recommending 19 years in prison for a Detroit-area doctor whose spinal surgeries are described by the government as "plain butchery."

Dr. Aria Sabit is returning to federal court Monday for his sentence. He's pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud for his work in California and Michigan. Judge Paul Borman is expected to hear from patients who are suffering from surgeries that were unnecessary or poorly performed.

Sabit admits he was getting kickbacks for using certain implants in Ventura, California. He also committed fraud against insurers and patients while working as a neurosurgeon in the Detroit area, where he had relocated in 2011.

Prosecutors compare Sabit to Dr. Farid Fata, a Detroit-area doctor who gave unnecessary cancer treatments. Fata got 45 years in prison.