Robert Smith III was sentenced to 150 months in prison and two years of supervised release for organizing and leading a $61.5 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which thousands of Medicare beneficiaries who were the victims of deceptive telemarketing were sent thousands of orthotic braces, foot baths, and genetic tests they [...]
John Bynon, Jr., MD, was Director of Abdominal Organ Transplantation and Surgical Director for Liver Transplantation at Memorial Hermann Health System’s Texas Medical Center in Houston. Under his care, patients were allegedly activated on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver transplant waitlist while awaiting an organ donation. An indictment returned in January alleges [...]
In November 2023, the Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division sued Pfizer, Inc., Tris Pharma, Inc. and Tris CEO Ketan Mehta for defrauding the Texas Medicaid program by providing adulterated pharmaceutical drugs to Texas children in violation of the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, now known as the Texas Health Care Program [...]
Donzell Jarrod Conrad walked into a dentist's office in Spring in October 2024 with a chipped molar. The next day, he underwent a tooth removal and never awoke from his anesthetic, according to attorneys. Conrad had a history of diabetes, obesity and hypertension, and he was taking blood pressure medication, according to a lawsuit filed [...]
Bella’s Village Cottage Care was closed with assistance from Harris County Precinct 4 Constables for being an unlicensed medical boarding home. The investigation began after investigators said a man called 911 to report a medical emergency involving an elderly patient who later died from natural causes inside the home. The owner, Glenda Adams, was arrested [...]
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, issued a voluntary recall on Oct. 7 for some of the prazosin hydrochloride capsules it distributed over a cancer-causing chemical connected to the prescription drug. FDA classified it as a Class II risk level on Friday, Oct. 24. The drug was approved by the FDA to treat [...]
The Texas Board of Nursing (TBON) is exposing, and recommending disciplinary action for, fake nurses operating in Texas. Kacosa Pleasant took a number of actions to fake her nursing credentials. Ms. Pleasant obtained employment as a Registered Nurse at a Dialysis Center in Lubbock, Texas, from June 10–November 22, 2024, using a fraudulent nursing license. [...]
A Texas pharmacy owner and three Texas pharmacists were recently in Houston for unlawfully distributing more than half a million opioid pills and other commonly abused prescription drugs, including to individuals paid to pose as patients by black market drug traffickers. Arthur Billings of Missouri City, a pharmacy owner and pharmacist, was sentenced to 12 [...]
For nearly two years, Dr. Ajay Aggarwal billed federally funded health care programs, such as Medicare and the Department of Labor’s Workers’ Compensation Programs, for surgical implantation of neuro-stimulator electrodes. These devices involve invasive procedures usually requiring the use of an operating room. However, neither Dr. Aggarwal nor his staff performed these surgical procedures, according [...]
A medical radiologic technologist ("MRT") is a health profession certified under Texas Occupations Code who, under the direction of a doctor, intentionally administers radiation to another person for a medical purpose. The Board may deny or discipline a MRT for engaging in unprofessional conduct, including the violation of the standards of practice of radiologic technology [...]
