Jurors in the tax evasion case against Dr. Joel Sabean deliberated for a second day Tuesday without reaching a verdict.
U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal excused the 12 jurors, 10 women and two men, just after 8 p.m. and instructed them to return to the U.S. District Court in Portland at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Sabean and his defense team along with the prosecution were present for the brief meeting. The jurors looked fatigued.
The South Portland dermatologist is charged with falsely claiming medical expenses on five years of federal taxes to cover up more than $2 million he sent to a family member in Florida.
Sabean also faces federal drug charges for prescribing medicine to the family member, who was not his patient, and health care fraud charges. Those charges relate to Sabean allegedly writing prescriptions to his wife, with the cost partially covered by the couple’s health insurance, but used by the family member, who was not on Sabean’s insurance plan.
The family member claims she was sexually abused by Sabean from the time she was a teenager and the payments were intended to keep her quiet and to maintain a string of sexually explicit emails that she had been sending to Sabean. The relative said she made up, with Sabean’s knowledge, dozens of fake medical bills for Sabean to use when Sabean’s wife and workers in his medical practice questioned the payments.
Sabean has not been charged with sexual assault. The Portland Press Herald does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.
Defense lawyers say Sabean’s psychological problems led him to believe the family member was really suffering from a string of medical problems that led to expensive treatments, including kidney and heart transplants.
Tuesday, jurors asked to hear parts of two experts’ testimony read back to them. One defense expert testified about how Sabean’s psychological issues may have led him to believe the family member really was ill and to send her dozens of payments – sometimes two or three a day – to pay for her medical bills. The other testimony read back was from an expert put on by prosecutors, who said Sabean’s psychological issues were not so serious they would have clouded his grasp of reality and led to him making the payments unquestionably.
Lawyers in the case said they were concerned that the jury might be having trouble reaching a verdict and noted that the judge sent jurors back after the testimony was read back with instructions to try harder.
They had been deliberating about 16 hours when they recessed Tuesday night.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey contributed to this report.
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