The Presumption of Innocence - Episode 53

Episode 53 Diagnosis: Innocent – A Doctor’s Journey to Acquittal For six and a half years, Dr. Muhamad Aly Rifai, a physician from Easton, Pa., lived in fear and anxiety that life as he knew it was over. A leader in telehealth psychiatric services since the early 2000s, Dr. Rifai was charged with fraudulently billing more than $1 million to Medicare, stemming from his practice treating elderly patients in a rural area. In this episode, Dr. Rifai describes his harrowing experience to host Matt Adams. It could be a tale straight from a television show, featuring a government raid by agents carrying automatic weapons, an early morning call from the local SWAT team lieutenant and a key government witness who crumbled under cross-examination on the stand. Dr. Rifai also imparts words of wisdom for anyone who may find themselves in a similar situation, and details how he combatted fierce pressure by the government — and his own attorney — to plead guilty.