By BEN FOX
Associated Press Writer

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Operators of an Orange County clinic paid thousands of people to undergo risky, unnecessary surgeries as part of a nationwide insurance fraud scheme, authorities said.

Some 5,000 patients were recruited from across the country and flown to California, where they underwent surgeries that were billed at excessive amounts to their insurance companies, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Wednesday.

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