The Truth Behind One of This Nation’s Biggest False Arrest & Imprisonment Scandals
Date Published: September 11, 2025
1. It is alarming that anyone can be indicted by a grand jury and arrested solely based on the government's allegations that exclude the accused and their counsel from being present or even aware of the accusations.
2. The FBI and U.S. Attorney built their alleged fraud case without ever doing a single required Medicare audit in their five-year investigation.
3. Once arrested, the five other defendants with the same exact charges were immediately released on bond the same day. While I was denied bail and imprisoned for three-and-a-half years awaiting trial—a violation of the 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the right to a speedy trial.
4. Also, the two defendants who accepted a PLEA DEAL in exchange for leniency never spent a single night in prison despite their admission of guilt. I chose to go to trial and was unanimously acquitted by a 12-member jury on all 54 counts, yet still I spent 1301 days in prison.
Introduction
Imagine dedicating your life and career to helping others
only to have the nation you served for half a century subvert the beautiful
career you built as the government uses you like a pawn in some cruel
high-stakes game. Then imagine this rogue nation isn’t some foreign, developing
country. This nation is the United States, which is supposed to be the greatest
nation in the world. USA v Raj is a story of wrongful imprisonment, federal
government corruption, and a broken judicial system that strives to turn
innocent people into convicted criminals. This is also an innocent man’s story
of gratitude, steadfast faith, and endurance to persevere until the end of a
war waged against him. The pages within recount a grueling season of my life
marked by trials, tribulations, and, ultimately, triumphs.
How can an innocent person be falsely arrested, imprisoned,
and attacked for over three-and-a-half years in the United States of all
places, the land of the free and the oldest democracy in the world? While the
6th Amendment of our revered Constitution mandates a speedy trial, I am here to
tell you how I was denied this basic right without cause. No innocent person
should spend a single day in jail, awaiting their fair trial. Yet here I found
myself: an innocent man arrested and incarcerated for three years, six months,
and twenty-four days without a single option for bail while my trial loomed
overhead like a storm cloud looking for a landscape to release its full fury.
Such an overreach of the judicial system was criminal. Yet, more criminal than
this was knowingly dragging me through a mockery of a trial where fairness and
ethics were checked at the door. Through battle after battle leading up to
trial, the daily challenges I faced tested my faith, inner strength, and
resolve to persevere amidst torment and manipulation. The war my own government
waged against me was a devastating storm that ripped through everything I had
built, leaving mass destruction in its wake. Yet, through the swirling tempest
of lawsuits, betrayals, false accusations, and frozen assets, I held steadfast.
The turmoil may have worn me down, but it also kindled my determination to see
righteousness and truth prevail. I relied on this indomitable fire within to
keep me warm each one of those 1,301 days I spent locked away in a cold, dark
cell. The light from my inner fire helped me remain focused on what I knew to
be the truth and my predestined freedom. My daily resolve was to get through
what felt like frozen time one day at a time while I refused to let that frigid
jail cell build a permanent home inside my heart.
However, those dark forces sure worked hard to destroy me
and everything I had spent a lifetime building. The truth is, when the
government needs a sacrificial lamb to further one of the nation’s biggest
opioid crisis reforms, no law-abiding citizen is above becoming the poster
child for their propaganda campaign. On a cold, overcast day in December 2018,
my five partners and I were arrested and charged with excessive narcotic
prescribing with the conveniently added charge of Medicare billing fraud that
is typically included in these cases. Without regard for our multi-clinic size
and number of patients we served, the federal government scrutinized our
practice according to raw data that completely distorted what happened at our
three Macomb County, Michigan clinics: The Pain Center USA in Warren and
Eastpointe and Interventional Pain Center in Warren. With over 25,000 patients
as opposed to the usual practice with a 1,000 or less patients, our clinics
comprised the largest interventional pain management practice in the United
States. This said, the facts were exactly the opposite of the federal
government’s claims, which were blatantly obvious from the start and eventually
proven in trial with a jury acquittal. Yet, at every step along those three
years, six months, and twenty-four days, the very government agencies meant to
uphold justice and keep its citizens safe continued their visibly irrational
and ignorant manhunt. They had their sacrificial lamb and continued to do
whatever it took to maliciously and strategically lead me to the slaughter.
Once the newspapers got ahold of this story, they were more
than eager to cover what the Feds had labeled “The Nation’s Biggest Medicare
Fraud and Fuelers of the Opioid Crisis.” One Macomb County Press article
headline read, “Six Detroit-area doctors charged in $500M opioid scheme.” These
false statements and narratives were never retracted by these papers or the
government in the end, when their folly and false judgments were exposed in
open court. Their initial claim was that we had billed Medicare $500 million,
while the actual amount that was paid, according to the government’s own data,
was $45 million. This, for our group of seven physicians, multiple physician
assistants, and three locations with over 130 employees and included all
ancillary services for over 25,000 patients over a period of six years.
Additionally, the narcotic doses, which again were based on the government’s
own data via Michigan’s automated prescription system, were statistically one
of the lowest compared to the national average and the Center of Disease
Control (CDC) guidelines. It’s impossible to believe these federal agencies and
expert agents were unaware of their own facts and how to handle the raw data to
accurately calculate these facts before, during, and after issuing indictments.
It’s even more impossible to believe the judicial system supported these claims
and false findings when they were so clearly misguided and ill-informed.
During my time behind bars, I filled my days with finding
the right legal representation, building a case to prove my innocence, and
researching the flawed criminal system in the United States. Shockingly, what I
learned is that the U.S., a country that makes up only 5% of the world’s
population, accommodates 25% of the world’s prison population. Its
incarceration rate is staggeringly higher than the Western world and a
terrifying twenty times greater than India, my birth country. This is alarming
for a first-world country like the U.S. with far less crime than these other
countries and far less poverty, corruption, economic turmoil, social unrest,
and/or terrorism. These rates are compounded by federal guidelines that call
for long sentences with mandatory minimums, which create a grim atmosphere of
fear and helplessness in defendants.
My experience revealed how the Department of Justice (DOJ),
an institution seeped in hubris and hypocrisy, is far from benign. It has no
problem being corrupt. Its underbelly is generally filled with secret grand
jury proceedings, an intimidating FBI, overzealous prosecutors, and dare I say,
even a few judges who’ve lost touch with the principle of justice. These
agencies all work together to cultivate a culture of “winning at any cost.”
This mindset is so ingrained in these institutions that the manipulation and
misuse of power have become the accepted norm. The public is ultimately
helpless against the government’s colossal power and is forced into
resignation, allowing a malignant bully culture to fester. The more convictions
prosecutors have—whether just or unjust—the more they advance in their careers.
With the daunting statistics of 99%+ convictions, even defense attorneys have
given up and fallen to the all-powerful government’s over-reach to have their
clients accept a guilty plea in a deal with the government.
My false arrest, imprisonment, and the rigged proceedings of
the trial reveal how two unique features of the American justice system—a grand
jury to bring the charges and the plea-bargaining system to coerce a guilty
plea—are inherently biased against defendants. Those within this legal system
see themselves as the ones on the right side of the law without respect for the
potential innocence or guilt of the defendants they prosecute. It’s classism at
its finest, where a caste system establishes a hierarchy of humanity for
individuals within it based on rank, title, and position. Defendants are seen
as subhuman, disposable creatures—lowly beasts whose suffering and abuse are
inconsequential. The accused are often left defenseless while they’re forced
into a corner. They must either agree to high-pressure plea deals and
incriminate their co-defendants regardless of guilt, or they can choose to
fight an uphill battle against the government’s colossal power, resources, and
their willingness to use every dirty trick to win at any cost. This prosecution
pattern is no fair deal, especially for those who are, in fact, innocent.
Rather, it’s a cruel mockery of justice. To compound the tragedy, 97% of
defendants are forced to take a plea deal because they lack the finances,
resources, and mental fortitude to endure a trial. Only a minuscule 0.03% of
defendants manage to prevail against the government at this level, a detail
they used to pressure me until the very end of my trial (even after they knew
their charges weren’t merited).
Miraculously, I was one of those few who decisively won a
grueling criminal trial in the case, United States of America vs. Dr. Raj
Bothra, et al. Waging a counter-war against the U.S. Government demands more
than just the righteousness of your case and a powerhouse legal team.
Prosecutors, as I witnessed, can and will fabricate a crime out of the thinnest
air. Only Divine grace and faith can save you from a terrifying sentence of
twenty years in a federal penitentiary. It became clear that only a jury made
up of twelve ordinary citizens is a beacon of fairness in the judicial system.
The rest is part of the same biased culture or is outright corrupt.
This narrative is about more than surviving the corrupt U.S.
justice system, an entity designed to protect its citizens, not act as a
merciless machine that chews up and spits out the innocent along with the
guilty. I did survive, which was likely not the hope of the prosecution. Yet
the cost of my survival and lost time is immeasurable. There is no recompense
for the injustices I endured. My once pristine reputation was shattered through
all this. My family was torn apart by the stress, separation, and humiliation.
And I will never be the same after those impossibly countless nights that I
spent wrestling with despair in that cold, desolate unforgiving prison cell.
Nothing in my life will ever be the same again. At eighty, I
do not have enough years to rebuild all they took from me. Though, in the
aftermath of this ordeal, I have taken up the challenge to rebuild my life and
advocate for change, so no other helpless person must endure such inhumane
injustice. I refuse to stand idle while this system continues to inflict
egregious harm. These are not mere impersonal statistics or policies. They are
a crushing weight that unfairly tips the scales of justice and presents a
silent catastrophe that threatens to bury alive its victims as it suffocates
the very promise of justice and fairness.
The pages within illustrate that I am more than a survivor.
Each word is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Despite the
fear they labored to instill in me during my incarceration and trial, I refuse
to be silenced by the ordeal and injustice I faced. I hope my story is a
clarion call to all who will listen. This is a call for reform, a plea for
humanity, and a demand for justice. I stand with every person who has been or
will be in my position. Together we can help transform the U.S. justice system
into one that truly upholds the rights and dignity of all its citizens. We owe
this much to ourselves and future generations. I am fervently committed to
using my story and voice to unveil the numerous deficiencies that exist in the
U.S. Department of Justice. My meticulously detailed and factual examples shine
a bright light on the dark injustices that are deeply rooted in our justice
system. USA v Raj retraces the roller coaster journey of my life as an activist
for just causes and career as a surgeon and interventional pain specialist, as
well as my false arrest, imprisonment, and trial. While my journey was
abundantly blessed with loving relationships and exemplary professional and
personal successes, it was also scarred by these devastating events toward the
end of my career.
This book chronicles a period that spans over 1,300 days,
where the DOJ—a bastion of federal power and authority—ruthlessly crushed an
ordinary citizen in their unyielding and unsparing pursuit of victory at all
costs (to me). What I learned during this time about America—the land of the
free and home of the brave—was how truly brave a soul must become when one’s
freedom is unjustly stolen. After fifty years in America, I was devastated to
learn it was no longer the land of faith, grit, and opportunity I had journeyed
to decades ago with a fresh doctorate degree and determination to chase my
childhood dreams. This was not the America I had grown to love and understand.
This was no longer my America or your America. It had been hijacked by radicals
whose motives no longer honored the best interests of the public it was
supposed to serve and protect. Who stands a chance when the pillars of justice
meant to uphold individual rights crumble under the strain of prejudice and
tainted bias? While less than 1% out of 100% odds were stacked against me, in
the end, God and the Divine were with me on my journey to freedom. I am living
proof that faith and truth can triumph over the corrupt power of prosecutors
and the federal government. Though I can never get those 1,301 days back or any
of the milestone moments I missed out on with loved ones, I am a free man who
will never take this freedom for granted. In the aftermath of this destructive
storm I survived, I am slowly sifting through the debris and piecing my blessed
life back together. The light from that inner fire continues to guide me as I
navigate the new legal, professional, and personal battles that rise from the
ashes.
Disclaimer: The pages that follow represent my own ideas,
experiences, perspectives, and understandings. The narrative builds on my
thoughts, memories, journal entries, letters, legal files, and court documents
that recorded my arrest, criminal detainment, and trial proceedings. My intent
is not to tell readers what to believe or to slander other individuals or
entities. Rather, my hope is to show and share the facts of what happened and
can happen to any citizen of our shared humanity. The names of those involved
with all legal proceedings have been changed for the authors’ protection and/or
the protection of certain individuals’ identities. Any use of likenesses is
derived from facts borrowed from public records such as trial transcripts,
court documents, and other publicly recorded media. The names of family
members, friends, and major public figures remain intact.
Dr. Raj Bothra is a surgeon, interventional pain expert, activist, author, and survivor of one of America's biggest false arrest and imprisonment scandals. A native of a rural town in India, he earned medical degrees in India, England, and the U.S. During his time as a surgeon in Detroit, he built a single-owner private practice that became the nation's largest interventional pain management system (The Pain Center, USA, and Interventional Pain Center). He's worked with important public figures, including Indian prime ministers, U.S. presidents, Mother Teresa, and Pope John Paul II. Indian President Narayanan awarded him the high civilian honor of PADMA SHRI and he’s received numerous awards in India and the U.S. for his public service.
Jenifer DeBellis, MFA, is a PhD candidate, transformational speaker, and award-winning author of Warrior Sister, Cut Yourself Free (Library Tales Publishing), New Wilderness (Cornerstone Press), and Blood Sisters (Main Street Rag). She edits Pink Panther Magazine and directs Restore Your Inner Warrior® and Detroit Writers’ Guild (501c3). She's featured in Psychology Today and her writing appears in CALYX, Medical Literary Messenger, The Good Men Project, Solstice, and elsewhere.
