Judge says surgeon might flee to native Afghanistan

DETROIT (AP) - A Detroit federal judge has refused to release a doctor charged with fraud in a series of spinal surgeries, saying he might flee to his native Afghanistan where several relatives are high-ranking officials. Dr. Aria Sabit is accused of billing insurers for bogus procedures and deceiving patients about how he planned to fix their spines. Prosecutors have said they fear the 40-year-old naturalized American could flee if a judge granted his bond request. Magistrate Judge David R. Grand last Friday rejected Sabit's bond request, ruling there's sufficient risk he might leave for Afghanistan. He was 8 when his family came to the U.S. as refugees. Sabit says one cousin is Afghanistan's finance minister, another leads its central bank and an uncle is speaker of the Lower House. Published: Tue, Dec 09, 2014