SAN DIEGO -- It's not what happened in the operating room or the exam room that is being played out in a San Diego courtroom.

It's what didn't happen.

A lawyer asks a patient, "There's an indication here that Dr. Lee did a physical examination on that date. Did that examination occur?"

The patient replied, "No."

Another patient was asked, "Did Dr. Silver ever listen to your heart with a stethoscope or check your cardiovascular system on that occasion?"

That patient said, "No."

These are patients of North County OB-GYN, testifying that they were charged for medical care they never received.

Plaintiff Dr. Seth Bulow said, "It's bad medical care. It's sloppy, it's illegal."

Bulow said he is a whistleblower wrongly fired for exposing the billing fraud of his colleagues.

"I was causing a problem with the company, costing them money; so, they decided to get rid of me," said Bulow.

Bulow is suing North County Medical Group, Inc. and Doctors Alan Silver, Elizabeth Silverman, Kirstin Lee, Kelley Harkey and Tracy Ruymann. The accusations include insurance fraud, racketeering, and wrongful termination.

"I had been there 16 years with an unblemished record, no problems," said Bulow.

The lawsuit claims the medical group, and Dr. Silver in particular, billed for services that were not delivered -- for years.

Take the case of Katherin Hoeyng, who is also suing. She was a maternity patient of Dr. Silver. She said her first appointment with him lasted 3 minutes.

"It was very obvious that he was always in a rush. And I'm a first-time mom and didn't want a doctor to rush me," Hoeyng said.

Dr. Silver billed Hoeyng for new patient detailed examination. The allegations are Hoeyng is not the only one.

Silver was asked in a deposition, "Have you billed for services which are not documented in the patient's chart as being done?"

Silver responded, "Yes."

Harvey Rosenfield of the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights said, "It's a national epidemic."

Rosenfield has no information about the current lawsuit, but he has collected and studied fraudulent medical bills for 20 years.

"Health care billing fraud is about one out of every $10 that we pay for health care in this country," Rosenfield said.

He said overcharging leads to an inflated bureaucracy of insurance company screeners, and can lead to valid claims being denied and amounts to hundreds of billions of wasted dollars.

"Everybody is harmed when you deal with fraud in the healthcare system, it affects everybody," said Rosenfield.

Dr. Silver testified that he never intended fraud and that he just doesn't keep good records.

He and the medical group doctors contend Dr. Bulow was "abrasive," "controlling," and "habitually late." They also said the lawsuit amounts to "Dr. Bulow's thirst for revenge and his bruised ego."

Dr. Silver admits Bulow was fired as punishment.

"He shouldn't and couldn't disparage us like that," said Silver.

The outcome of this case will soon be decided by a jury, with deliberations beginning within days.

The attorney for the medical group told 10News in a previous interview that there was no billing fraud.

The attorney also provided copies of a California Medical Board's review of complaints from patients regarding the clinics practices. They found no evidence of fraud.

10News will report with what the jury finds in this case.

The following is a statement from Al De La Cruz, Counsel for Dr. Allan Silver, North County OB-GYN Medical Group, Dr. Kirstin Lee, Dr. Elizabeth Silverman, Dr. Tracy Ruymann, Dr. Kelly Harkey:

Dear Mr. August:

I received the e-mail found below from one of your reporters, Ms. Reynolds. My clients will not go against the court's wishes. As such, my clients will not be making a statement before the jury's verdict.

We will allow the evidence presented in court as well as the material previously provided to Ms. Reynolds to set forth their position. However, you should be aware that the State of California Medical Board has advised me that they have completed their investigations. They have also presented their investigative materials for review by the California Attorney General's office. In the absence of any evidence to support fraud, old or new, they are closing all the complaints against the group under their jurisdiction, including specifically those against Dr. Silver. The Lead Investigator has advised me that the Medical Board has found in favor of North County Ob-Gyn and Dr. Silver in all remaining open matters. Formal letters similar or identical to those previously provided are forthcoming. You may verify this statement by contacting Brent Bowser or Nancy Edwards at the State of California Medical Board. The number is (858) 467-6837. You should investigate such developments before airing any story and any such story should be held until a verdict is rendered.

On behalf of my clients I do request that you, Ms. Reynolds, Ms. Castillo, or whomever selected this Sunday as an airing time to reconsider your decision. The jury will have the case for deliberations on Wednesday. As such, the delay sought is minimal. I have now seen the teaser for your story. It appears malicious, inflammatory, and clearly intended to boost your ratings. As such, I am left to wonder if the story will be a balanced portrayal. It appears that your station is trying to make the story rather than report the story. By this e-mail we request that you reschedule this story for a date post-verdict. Airing this story in the face of findings from the State of California that refute Dr. Bulow's claims seems very unusual. This is all the more so in light of the absence of any action by the district attorney's office. I trust that you will examine the court docket so as to learn that not one insurance company representative has come to court to testify that it has been defrauded.

I must respectfully question the station's motives in light of Ms. LeAnn Kim's sworn testimony that it would be unethical for an involved reporter to investigate and do a story on this case. As you know, Mr. Thom Jensen, the original investigative reporter, and his wife were expecting and under Dr. Bulow's care when he allegedly investigated the initial story. It now appears that Channel 10 is attempting to improperly influence this case to minimize the potential for a slander per se lawsuit from my clients. If that is the station's concern, there are better ways to achieve that goal. It is clear from your website that your station has decided that Dr. Bulow's allegations are true, though a jury has yet to make that determination.

As it is will soon be a matter of public record, I do offer you the following excerpt from the deposition of Kathrin Hoeyng.

Hoeyng, Kathrin - Deposition Vol. I - (Pages 124:19 to 126:14)

19 A. I -- Mr. Jenson told me later when I met him
20 that I think his wife was pregnant at the same time, and
21 so she -- I think she was also a patient of Dr. Bulow.
22 I'm not sure, but I think that's it, but he told me that
23 later sometime.
24 Q. Okay. When he took the interview, the one that
25 was recorded?
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. Did he indicate to you why another reporter did
3 not do the interview?
4 Did that topic ever come up?
5 A. He was -- he -- I don't know if that was the
6 only reason. He was very passionate about that issue
7 because he himself was the father of a small child, and
8 his wife was pregnant, and so he was very outraged. He
9 was very mad, and so he wanted to do it.
10 Q. Did he mention anything about another reporter
11 having a relationship with Dr. Bulow such that that
12 might have affected why he chose to do this?
13 A. Mr. Jenson?
14 Q. Yes.
15 A. Not to me.
16 Q. Okay. Just on the chance that it might spur
17 your recollection, he mentioned during other meetings
18 that --
19 A. Who is "he"? I'm sorry.
20 Q. "He" being Mr. Jenson.
21 A. Uh-huh.
22 Q. -- that he was aware that Lee Ann Kim had been
23 a patient of Dr. Bulow's.
24 Did you ever come to know of that --
25 A. I did --
1 Q. -- through him?
2 A. -- know that, not from him, though.
3 Q. Through what means?
4 A. I heard that she was a patient from Dr.
5 Bulow --
6 Q. Okay.
7 A. -- not from Mr. Jenson.
8 Q. When was that conveyed to you?
9 Let me rephrase that. That was a bad question.
10 It's getting near the end of the day.
11 When did Dr. Bulow indicate to you that Ms. Kim
12 was a patient of his?
13 A. When he indicated that to me?
14 Q. Yes.

Once again, we respectfully request that you defer the story until the jury renders it verdict. Lastly, we ask that you preserve all publications, whether written or video, that your station has issued regarding these matters. Any destruction will be viewed as an effort to spoliate evidence.

Sincerely,

Al De La Cruz
Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez LLP

Counsel for Dr. Allan Silver, North County OB-GYN Medical Group, Dr. Kirstin Lee, Dr. Elizabeth Silverman, Dr. Tracy Ruymann Dr. Kelly Harkey