A recent investigation into a $300 million healthcare fraud case has resulted in all 11 defendants pleading guilty to the charges.
In an April 20 Department of Justice news release, it was revealed all the defendants implicated in the Spectrum/Reliable healthcare scam have pleaded guilty. Ten of the defendants, including two doctors, were sentenced in early February while the remaining defendant was sentenced in mid March.
"The swift resolution of this case is a testament to both our office and to the investigative agencies that worked diligently to ensure our case was airtight," U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham said, according to the release. "We cannot allow physicians’ judgment to be clouded by financial considerations."
The scheme reportedly involved many healthcare professionals, including physician Eduardo Canova, family physician Jose Maldonado, nurse practitioner Keith Wichinski, Reliable Labs co-founder Abraham Phillips, marketing company owner Juan David Rojas, marketing employee Laura Ortiz and Reliable Labs co-founder Biby Kurian, according to the news release. The case involved the lab companies paying kickbacks to the medical professionals for unnecessary lab tests which were billed to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs.
“This proactive investigation identified an illegal kickback conspiracy that resulted in substantial evidence and a guilty plea from each defendant," Matthew J. DeSarno, Dallas FBI special agent in charge, said in the release. "I commend our partners and the Northern District of Texas for their meticulous work in unraveling the schemes perpetrated by these defendants and for their work to protect American taxpayers and the integrity of our healthcare system.”
