A Niles man is one of hundreds of patients to be scammed by an Indiana nose doctor, police say.

Mark Weinberger of Merrillville was recently brought back to the United States from Italy after being missing for about five years. The 46-year-old nose doctor is expected to go before a federal judge in Hammond Monday for major healthcare insurance fraud.

A local man went to the doctor with sinus problems, but now has a much bigger headache.

Kevin Schlutt's sinus problems were so bad that when he heard about a doctor in Merrillville that could help him, Kevin quickly made an appointment.

"And I thought, man, maybe this guy can help me breathe better,” says Kevin.

Dr. Mark Weinberger told Kevin he had a deviated septum and polyps and needed surgery. However, shortly after Kevin's surgery, the nose doctor disappeared.

“What kind of reaction can you have? What are you going to do?" he says.

Five years later in December, Weinberger was found living in a tent in the Italian Alps and was just brought back to America.

"You're going in and messing with people's lives, and I should be able to trust you,” says Kevin.

Weinberger is welcomed home with hundreds of malpractice suits and 22 counts of healthcare fraud. He's accused of charging insurance companies for surgeries he never performed and doing surgery on hundreds of patients that may not have needed it.

“Restitution on everything he's done wrong. You play, you pay. Now it's his turn to pay,” says Kevin.

Weinberger was indicted by a federal grand jury while he was on the run. He's expected in federal court in Hammond Monday.