GUILTY Dr. Sabit, who was arrested in 2014, pleaded guilty to various charges, including multiple counts of healthcare fraud.

Prosecutors allege a Detroit-area neurosurgeon had one simple reason for performing so many unnecessary invasive spinal surgeries and implanting more devices than medically necessary when spinal fusion surgery may have been appropriate: to pad the profits he made as an investor in a small spinal-surgery device firm.

Aria O. Sabit, MD, 43, earlier this week received a nearly 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to 4 counts of healthcare fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and 1 count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, resulting in $2.8 million in losses to Medicare, Medicaid and various insurers. His 2014 arrest came after a months-long investigation by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said Dr. Sabit's "plain butchery" was performed all in the name of financial gain.

In February 2010, while on staff at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, Calif., Dr. Sabit invested in Apex Medical Technologies, which was owned by another neurosurgeon and 3 non-physicians. In exchange for sharing in Apex's profits, Dr. Sabit agreed to convince his hospital to buy spinal implant devices from Apex and also to use them in his surgical procedures.

Dr. Sabit admitted to concealing his involvement from the hospitals and surgical centers with whom Apex did business. He "compromised his medical judgment and abused his position of trust," according to court documents.

Furthermore, he admitted that the financial incentives he received spurred him to use more spinal implant devices than were medically necessary to treat his patients in order to boost Apex's sales revenue. Patients suffered as a result. In the span of 18 months, Dr. Sabit accounted for more than 70% of all patients who had to be readmitted to the hospital following surgery, reportedly resulting in at least one death.

The hospital suspended Dr. Sabit's privileges in December 2010, and nearly 30 of his patients later sued him for malpractice.

Dr. Sabit then moved to Michigan, where he owned and operated the Michigan Brain and Spine Physicians Group. From January 2011 till his arrest in November 2014, he submitted false claims for surgical services that were never rendered, according to the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said Dr. Sabit's crimes warranted a harsh sentence not only because of their gross nature, but also to discourage other physicians from engaging in healthcare fraud.

Attempts to reach Dr. Sabit's attorney, Joseph Niskar, and the Department of Justice for comment were unsuccessful.

Bill Donahue