Ten Texans, including two Laredo physicians, have been indicted in what federal authorities say was a $300 million scheme to funnel medical-testing orders to certain labs in exchange for kickbacks.
In a 26-count indictment made public Wednesday, the defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, offering or paying kickbacks, and soliciting or receiving kickbacks.
The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Fort Worth and announced by Chad Meacham, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
According to the indictment, the founders of three medical labs, one in Fort Worth, one in Arlington and one in Carrollton, paid kickbacks to doctors and other medical professionals so they would order unnecessary blood and toxicology tests, which were then billed to Medicare and other federal-healthcare programs.
The indictment said the labs, working with so-called marketing professionals, disguised the illegal payments as legitimate business transactions, including medical advisory agreements, salary offsets, lease payments and marketing commissions.
Those charged in the indictment are:
- Jose Roel Maldonado, a doctor practicing family medicine in Laredo;
- Eduardo Carlos Canova, a Laredo doctor specializing in internal medicine;
- Keith Allen Wichinski, a San Antonio nurse practitioner;
- Jeffrey Paul Madison, the founder of Unified Laboratory Services in Fort Worth and Spectrum Diagnostic Laboratory in Arlington;
- Mark Christopher Boggess, chief operating officer for Madison’s two labs;
- Biby Ancy Kurian and Abraham Phillips, co-founders of Reliable Labs in Carrollton;
- Juan David Rojas and David Michael Lizcano, owners of separate marketing firms engaged by Unified, Spectrum and Reliable;
- Laura Ortiz, Lizcano’s sister and an employee at his marketing firm.
Each faces 55 years or more in federal prison if convicted.
“Anti-kickback laws are designed to ensure that financial considerations do not cloud physicians’ judgment,” Meacham said in a written statement. “The Justice Department is determined to prosecute those flouting our nation’s healthcare fraud laws. Patients – and taxpayers – deserve rigorous enforcement.”
Matthew DeSarno, special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI office, which was involved in investigating the alleged scam, added: “Illegal kickback schemes corrupt the healthcare system. They cause billions of dollars in losses each year, generate business for dishonest service providers and erode trust in our health care system.”
Prosecuting the case is Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl.
Court records available late Thursday listed the attorneys for just three of the 10 defendants: Canova is represented by Philip Daniel Del Rio of the Del Rio Law Firm in Laredo; Phillips by Arnold Augur Spencer of Spencer & Associates in Dallas; and Rojas by Gregg Gallian of the Gallian Firm in Dallas.