Business News

Evidence: Medical Scams: Dr. Mikos

Joyce Brannon

Joyce Brannon, 54, was murdered in a church basement just four days before she was scheduled to appear before a grand jury in the medical fraud care of Dr. Ronald Mikos. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church

On January 27, 2001, Joyce Brannon was murdered here, at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, where she lived in the basement apartment and worked as the church's secretary. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Brannon's Apartment

Joyce Brannon attended Sunday services at Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church just hours before being murdered in her apartment, located in the church's basement. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

FBI Agent Marybeth King

FBI Agent Marybeth King shows where Dr. Ronald Mikos entered Joyce Brannon's apartment, located in a church basement. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

Brannon's Nursing License

Joyce Brannon, a former ICU nurse, told investigators that Dr. Mikos never performed any surgeries on her feet. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Leila Raab

Leila Raab remembers her friend Joyce Brannon as someone who always tried to do good, a hero. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

Evidence: Car Note

This note, found in Dr. Ronald Mikos' car, details the name of Joyce Brannon's church, where she lived, in addition to information relating to Sunday services and when people would be present at the church. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Evidence: Weapons

Investigators confiscated a cache of weapons in Dr. Ronald Mikos' storage locker. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Evidence: Storage Locker

Among the items found in Dr. Ronald Mikos' storage locker was a property receipt from the Skokie Police Department detailing all the guns Mikos owned, including a .22-caliber revolver - the same type of gun used to kill Joyce Brannon. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Evidence: Car Conents

Federal investigators obtained a search warrant for Dr. Ronald Mikos' car and found several pieces of evidence, including a shell casing for a .22-caliber bullet and a partially used box of .22-caliber ammunition consistent with the bullets used to kill Joyce Brannon. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)

Assistant US Attorney Sean Berkowaitz

Assistant US Attorney Sean Berkowitz worked with the FBI and Health and Human Services to bring Dr. Ronald Mikos to justice for healthcare fraud as well as for the murder of Joyce Brannon. (Source: Kurtis Productions)

Dr. Ronald Mikos

On May 5, 2005, Dr. Ronald Mikos was convicted of healthcare fraud, sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $1.8 million for at least 6,000 surgeries he never performed. For the murder of Joyce Brannon, subpoenaed to serve as a witness against him in federal court, Dr. Mikos received the death penalty. (Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation)