Texas doctor who faked patient diagnoses to fund lavish lifestyle learns his fate
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Texas doctor who faked patient diagnoses to fund lavish lifestyle learns his fate
Texas doctor who faked patient diagnoses to fund lavish lifestyle learns his fate. Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada, M.D., was convicted on multiple charges, including one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He was found to have defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Blue Cross Blue Shield out of $28 million. The 68-year-old orchestrated this fraudulent scheme from his office in Mission, Texas, with assistance from staff members who were reportedly abused and intimidated due to his position. The caregiver used his position to hire foreign staffers who needed employment to remain in the country on their J-1 visas and wouldn’t question his authority unless they risked being fired and deported. His scheme involved over $118 million in fraudulent claims, including 13 real estate properties, a private jet, and a Maserati GranTurismo.
A doctor based in Texas faces charges of health care fraud and obstruction of justice as he was administering treatments to healthy individuals after falsely diagnosing them
US Doctor performed treatment on healthy patients in scheme to fund his lifestyle (Image: San Antonio FBI )
A doctor in Texas has received a 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty of falsely diagnosing patients, all to support his extravagant lifestyle. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
The Department of Justice reported that Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada, M.D., was convicted on multiple charges, including one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
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“Dr. Zamora-Quezada funded his luxurious lifestyle for two decades by traumatizing his patients, abusing his employees, lying to insurers, and stealing taxpayer money,” the DOJ’s Criminal Division head Matthew R. Galeotti said.
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Zamora-Quezada defrauded both patients and insurance companies by intentionally misdiagnosing individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, despite them not actually having this lifelong and incurable condition.
Dr Jorge Zamora-Quezada Zamora-Quezada’s jet (Image: DOJ )
The 68-year-old orchestrated this fraudulent scheme from his office in Mission, Texas, with assistance from staff members who were reportedly abused and intimidated due to his position. The caregiver used his position to hire foreign staffers who needed employment to remain in the country on their J-1 visas and wouldn’t question his authority unless they risked being fired and deported.
Zamora-Quezada faslified patient medical records to fraudulently obtain insurance payments from various providers. He was found to have defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Blue Cross Blue Shield out of $28 million.
During the 25-day trial, other doctors from the Rio Grande Valley testified against him, uncovering unexpected insights as they treated numerous patients whom they believed were suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). “For most (patients) it was obvious that they did not have rheumatoid arthritis,” one rheumatologist testified.
Upon sentencing, Zamora-Quezada also required to forfeit more than $28 million, which includes 13 real estate properties, a private jet, and a Maserati GranTurismo.
His scheme involved over $118 million in fraudulent claims. As a result of falsely diagnosing patients with chronic illnesses, he received over $28 million in payments from insurers for unnecessary tests and treatments.
The risky treatments prescribed by Zamora-Quezada led to patients experiencing severe side effects, such as strokes, jawbone necrosis, hair loss, and liver damage.
Certain regimens involved administering toxic medications that could have harmful or even fatal side effects. Some victims experienced intense pain that rendered them unable to carry out even basic daily activities.
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“Constantly being in bed and being unable to get up from bed alone, and being pumped with medication, I didn’t feel like my life had any meaning,” one patient told the court. A mother compared her child to a lab rat with the amount of medication Zamora-Quezada prescribed.
Galeotti made a point to emphasize the emotional turmoil in this case instead of just the financial loss. “Today’s sentence is not just a punishment—it’s a warning. Medical professionals who harm Americans for personal enrichment will be aggressively pursued and held accountable to protect our citizens and the public fisc,” Galeotti said.
Doctor falsely diagnosed healthy patients with chronic illnesses in order to fund lavish lifestyle
Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada, M.D., was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release. In addition to his prison term, he was ordered to forfeit over $28 million, including 13 real estate properties, a private jet and a Maserati GranTurismo. He falsely diagnosed patients with chronic illnesses to bill for tests and treatments that the patients did not need, the DOJ said. The 68-year-old also falsified patient records to support the false diagnoses, according to the Department of Justice. The fake diagnoses made patients believe they had lifelong, incurable conditions that required regular treatment in his office, officials said. He also fired employees who challenged him.
According to the Department of Justice, Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada, M.D., was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
He was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Officials say this is one of the doctor’s many luxury properties. (Department of Justice)
In addition to his prison term, Zamora-Quezada was ordered to forfeit over $28 million, including 13 real estate properties, a private jet and a Maserati GranTurismo.
Zamora-Quezada ran a health care fraud scheme involving over $118 million in false claims and the payment of over $28 million by insurers as a result of him falsely diagnosing patients with chronic illnesses to bill for tests and treatments that the patients did not need.
Officials said he did this for two decades.
The DOJ said Zamora-Quezada was a rheumatologist working in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, near the Mexico border.
The 68-year-old also falsified patient records to support the false diagnoses.
Officials said Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada lived a lavish lifestyle, including this private jet. (Department of Justice)
The fake diagnoses made patients believe they had lifelong, incurable conditions that required regular treatment in his office. These unnecessary treatments included a variety of injections, infusions, X-rays, MRIs and other procedures.
Because they were taking medications and treatments they did not need, many patients suffered severe side effects, including strokes, necrosis of the jawbone, hair loss, liver damage, and pain so severe that basic tasks of everyday life, such as bathing, cooking and driving, became difficult.
As one patient testified, “Constantly being in bed and being unable to get up from bed alone, and being pumped with medication, I didn’t feel like my life had any meaning.”
One mother described how she felt that her child served as a “lab rat,” and others described abandoning plans for college or feeling like they were “living a life in the body of an elderly person.”
Other rheumatologists in the area who treated patients that previously saw Zamora-Quezada said it was immediately obvious that they did not have the diseases and conditions that they had been diagnosed with.
One doctor testified at trial that for “most patients” it was “obvious that the patient did not have rheumatoid arthritis.”
Former employees also testified that Zamora-Quezada imposed strict quotas for procedures.
One employee said he threw a paperweight at them for failing to generate enough unnecessary procedures.
Other employees said he hired them because they were on J-1 visas and their immigration status could be jeopardized if they lost their jobs.
He also fired employees who challenged him.
“This case was not only a concern to us because of the financial loss — the physical and emotional harm suffered by the patients and their families was alarming and profound,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp of the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office. “We hope this significant sentence will help bring closure to the many victims in this case.”
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Source: https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/texas-doctor-who-faked-patient-1170913