Dateline: A complete timeline of Mark Weinberger’s disappearance and sentencing, explored

Dateline: A Wanted Man takes the idea of a man committing fraud to a different level. In 2004, Michelle Kramer, who was turning 30, was on a yacht trip in Mykonos with her husband, surgeon Mark Weinberger. As Michelle Kramer told Dateline,

"He said, ‘You’re going to have this huge birthday surprise and it’s going to be bigger than... what the stars have. You’re not going to be able to even comprehend what the surprise is.'"

Surely, Michelle got a surprise she couldn't comprehend for a few days. A day after their trip started, Mark Weinberger went missing from the yacht. Soon, the boat's captain informed Kramer that he had found a cab driver who said he had dropped off Weinberger at the airport to catch a flight on a private jet.

Michelle Kramer would soon find out that her husband had not just abandoned her; he was also running from the consequences of his malpractices.

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Timeline of Dateline: A Wanted Man

Michelle Kramer was a psychology student who met a much older man, a surgeon, Mark Weinberger, in 2000. Recalling her first date with Weinberger, Kramer told Dateline,

"The first date, I drove into the city, he had a bottle of champagne and a candle that was scented like champagne, and you know, I just remember being awestruck by all of this,”

Kramer was charmed, and this wasn't the end. Mark proposed to Michelle in Rome, Italy and the couple got married in 2001. The wedding itself was lavish, with ceremonies taking place in Chicago and Italy both. Everything was beautiful. Or so Michelle thought.

In reality, Mark was misdiagnosing his patients who came to see him at his Merrillville, Indiana, sinus clinic. As a result, he was doing more surgeries than what was necessary or normal for a solo practitioner.

According to Dateline, in 2004, when Mark and Michelle were on a yacht, sailing around the islands of Greece, he would suddenly disappear with no regard for leaving his wife behind. Michelle initially thought Mark had gone to buy her a birthday gift or to run an errand. But as she told Dateline, the boat captain told her later that night,

‘It’s already dark out, Mark is not coming back, he’s never coming back,’”

A confused and lost Michelle had just a passport and two thousand euros with her, and returned to Chicago alone. On her return, she learnt of all her husband's malpractices.

Dateline reports that, at the time he vanished, Weinberger was facing numerous civil lawsuits from former patients, including a case brought by the family of Phyllis Barnes. Phyllis had consulted Weinberger in 2001 for breathing difficulties and a hoarse voice. Weinberger diagnosed her with sinus issues and performed surgery soon after, but her condition did not improve.

Dateline also revealed that Phyllis later consulted Dr. Dennis Han, another ENT specialist, who immediately recognized her symptoms as advanced throat cancer. Han noted that the signs were so apparent that even a beginner medical student would have spotted them, implying Weinberger either missed or ignored the diagnosis. Due to the delay, Phyllis' treatment was postponed, and she passed away in 2004.

Phyllis’s experience was similar to that of eight-year-old Kayla Thomas, who was suffering from severe headaches and nausea. Her mother, Valerie, described her daughter’s pain and desperation, and Weinberger quickly recommended emergency sinus surgery, which he performed days later.

However, Kayla’s symptoms, like Phyllis', did not improve, and other doctors later diagnosed her with a benign brain tumor. The surgery left scar tissue that complicated future treatment and contributed to ongoing health struggles.

As seen on Dateline, when Weinberger disappeared, financial records revealed that he had billed insurance companies $13 million in 2003 alone, a strangely high number for a single practitioner. A federal investigation revealed that he had fraudulently billed for procedures he did not even perform. In 2006, he was indicted on 22 counts of healthcare fraud, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, and his medical license was revoked.

In 2008, Michelle filmed a segment for America’s Most Wanted to raise awareness, so that Weinberger could be caught. In 2009, Monica Specogna from Courmayeur, Italy, watched the segment and realized that her new boyfriend, who went by the name of Mark Stearn, was actually Mark Weinberger.

Monica then went to the Carabinieri police in Italy and told them everything she knew and had figured out. Weinberger was then hiding out in a tent in Mont Blanc, and a special team was sent to find him. After they found him, they managed to convince him to come into the station to sign some papers by saying they were looking for someone else.

The team in Italy had done all the formalities, including obtaining an arrest warrant from the FBI. Hwever, right before he was put in handcuffs, Weinberger used the excuse of using the washroom to slit his throat with a knife. He was fortunately still alive and was treated at a local hospital. Two months later, he was transported back to the United States.

Finally, he was charged with 22 counts of healthcare fraud and more than 280 lawsuits. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to the fraud charges and was sentenced to seven years in prison. As for the lawsuits, a settlement worth $55 million was reached.

He served five years in prison and then, in 2014, was sent to a Florida halfway house. As Dateline reports, Mark Weinberger has since then explored various careers, like one in cryptocurrency, one in marketing, and one even as a yoga doctor. As of now, Mark Weinberger has remarried and lives with his family in Florida.

New episodes of Dateline come out on Fridays on NBC at 10 pm ET. All released episodes of Dateline can be streamed on Peacock.

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