Two pain management doctors in Dallas who made millions of dollars by billing insurance companies for corticosteroid shots they pretended to give patients pleaded guilty Tuesday to healthcare fraud charges.
Drs. Desi Barroga and Deno Barroga, 51-year-old twin brothers, face as much as 10 years in prison after pleading guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford to one count each of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
The doctors admitted in court documents to billing insurers Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and United Healthcare at least $45 million in the scheme and getting paid at least $9 million between 2016 and 2022.
“Today, Dr. Desi Barroga formally took responsibility for misconduct at his medical offices,” his lawyer, Nick Oberheiden, wrote in a statement to The Texas Lawbook after the court proceeding.
“As a patient advocate for many and for many years, Dr. Barroga sincerely regrets his conduct and he will do everything in his power to make good and demonstrate his accountability,” Oberheiden said.
Aaron Wiley, lawyer for Deno Barroga, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As part of the conspiracy, the doctors would require patients to visit their office monthly to receive corticosteroid injections, according to the court documents. But patients rarely received shots, the doctors admitted.
The doctors would sometimes mimic giving injections by placing a needle on the patients’ bodies without piercing the skin, court documents state.
The doctors purported to give dozens of shots to patients – typically more than 80 injections – per visit in false claims submitted to the insurance companies, according to plea agreement documents.
Desi Barroga and Deno Barroga will surrender their DEA registrations and medical licenses before their sentencing hearing Sept. 25, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors in November obtained multi-count indictments for each doctor, alleging conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud and unlawful distribution of a controlled substance. At that time, prosecutors said the doctors billed for more than $50 million and were paid about $12 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Renee Hunter and Demitri Rocha are prosecuting the case.
The case number is 3:23-cr-00454.