Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Grand jury gets hepatitis C outbreak case

Sun Coverage

A grand jury is exploring possible criminal charges related to the hepatitis C outbreak, the Clark County District Attorney’s office said today.

Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens wouldn’t speak about who might be indicted or what charges could be presented but did say grand jurors are hearing the case. Dr. Dipak Desai and his Las Vegas Valley endoscopy clinics have been a high-profile subject of investigations related to the outbreak.

Under law, grand jury proceedings are secret.

District Attorney David Roger had previously said charges could involve patient neglect as well as fraud charges.

If indictments are returned, they could be unsealed as soon as next week, Owens said.

The Southern Nevada Health District has linked nine hepatitis C cases to Desai’s facilities, but said 105 other patients could have been infected.

The outbreak prompted health officials to recommend testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV to about 50,000 patients.

About 5,000 former patients have filed lawsuits stemming from the outbreak.

“We’ve been reviewing the case for a long time,” Owens said, adding that it has been a cooperative investigation with the state attorney general’s office and the U.S. attorney’s office. “Each entity is pursuing its own part of the case or charges,” he said.

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