‘Medical Emergency’ Forces Mistrial in Oft-Delayed $158M Pharmacy Fraud Case

A mistrial was declared last week in one of the biggest healthcare fraud cases in Texas, after a medical emergency involving a defense lawyer brought the case to a halt during testimony in federal court in Dallas.

After hearing arguments from both sides, and polling jurors on whether they thought they could pick up where they left off after a monthlong delay, U.S. District Judge Sam Lindsay last Monday pulled the plug on the criminal trial of four people — a surgeon, a pharmacist, the pharmacist’s brother and the brother’s stepson — accused of bilking the government out of $158 million.