Medicaid fraud allegations target critical autism services
Medicaid fraud allegations target applied behavioral analysis therapy services for children with autism, raising concerns among families. Christina Coleman reports on the rise in fraudulent billing practices as mother Lindsey Chaney and Kelsey Bennett from the Autism Families Alliance join the discussion to highlight the impact of these fraudulent schemes.
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A Texas mental health clinic owner was convicted by a federal jury after prosecutors said he orchestrated a $26 million scheme to defraud the military’s health care program, using some of the proceeds to fund luxury purchases, including a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck worth more than $100,000.
Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, was found guilty Thursday in federal court in Fort Worth on three counts of health care fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal health care kickbacks and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, according to the Justice Department.
Federal prosecutors said Curry exploited TRICARE, the health care program serving active-duty servicemembers, retirees and their families, by billing for transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, therapy that was medically unnecessary or, in many cases, never provided.
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A gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck that federal prosecutors said Kevin Curry purchased with proceeds from a $26 million scheme to defraud TRICARE. (DOJ)
According to evidence presented at trial, Curry owned and operated mental health clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Prosecutors said he paid more than $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks to persuade active-duty servicemembers, veterans and their family members to consent to TMS therapy they did not qualify for and, in many instances, did not receive.
Judge Leonie Brinkema said the issues underlying a lawsuit over the Anti-Weaponization Fund remain “alive and kicking,” despite the Justice Department’s insistence that the fund is dead. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The Justice Department said Curry falsely represented himself as a medical doctor, used licensed doctors’ credentials without their knowledge or consent to submit claims to TRICARE, and directed employees to fabricate medical records to justify fraudulent billings.
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Authorities said Curry’s clinics submitted more than $26 million in false, fraudulent or kickback-tainted claims to TRICARE, which ultimately paid approximately $17 million.
Justice Department lawyers asked a federal judge Friday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Anti-Weaponization Fund, arguing Attorney General Todd Blanche formally terminated it Aug. 2. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Prosecutors said Curry laundered some of the proceeds by spending the money on luxury hotel stays, a lavish casino-themed party and a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck valued at more than $100,000.
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“This defendant exploited a critical health care program serving active-duty servicemembers and their families, diverting taxpayer dollars to bankroll personal luxuries ranging from hotel stays to a casino-themed party and even a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said in a statement.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said Curry “shamelessly preyed on the trust of servicemembers, veterans, and their families,” accusing him of fabricating medical records, stealing doctors’ identities and submitting fraudulent claims while profiting from kickback-tainted money.
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Curry is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the nine counts. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.