Federal prosecutors asking for trial date in Paulus case

Henry Culvyhouse, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

Jul. 1—ASHLAND — Federal prosecutors have motioned for a trail date in the case against Dr. Richard E. Paulus, the former King's Daughters Medical Center cardiologist accused of bilking the federal dole by performing unnecessary heart stents.

Federal prosecutors were shooting for a trial date after January 2023.

In addition to a retrial — Paulus' original conviction was overturned in early 2020 — prosecutors are also signaling that the case may be moved from Ashland to another federal courthouse "because a fair and impartial jury cannot be seated in Ashland, Kentucky."

Prosecutors said the medical records provided by KDMC "in fact found that hundreds of procedures reviewed reflected stenosis vastly below what Paulus recorded in the medical records, rendering the procedures medically unnecessary."

Paulus was convicted at trial in 2016 on fraud charges — a judge threw the conviction, but it was reinstated by the appellate courts. Then Paulus successfully had his conviction overturned due to pertinent evidence being withheld from his first trial.

That evidence — an internal audit conducted by KDMC — was ordered to be withheld by a federal judge. However, the appellate court found it could've helped Paulus' case and ordered a new trial.

Following that decision, Paulus tried to appeal again on the grounds that a retrial would violate his double jeopardy rights. KDMC tried to appeal that it shouldn't turn over the records on the grounds that it was part of a settlement with the government in the mid-2010s and that it was a work product.

Both appeals were exhausted this year and the case is back in the Eastern District Court of Kentucky.

Prosecutors said KDMC is providing the records and a review is being conducted, with the evidence being turned over to Paulus' attorneys "on a rolling basis."

A retrial is necessary because Paulus rejected a plea offer in April 2020, following his conviction being overturned, according to federal prosecutors.

(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com