McALLEN, Texas — A federal jury has convicted a Texas doctor and a clinic employee on charges of healthcare fraud, conspiracy, and receiving illegal kickbacks. The verdict came after the pair ordered unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
The jury found 69-year-old Dr. Osama Nahas, of McAllen, and 53-year-old Isabel Pruneda, of Edinburg, guilty of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud, and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute after a two-week trial. Pruneda was also convicted of aggravated identity theft.
“Adult day cares are supposed to be places where the elderly and vulnerable feel safe, not vehicles for scheming doctors and staff to make illegal profits through kickbacks and get-rich quick opportunities,” Hamdani said. He added that Nahas and Pruneda “preyed on the elderly” and abused the trust and respect that medical professionals ordinarily deserve.
Nahas, the owner and physician at Crosspoint Medical Clinic in Edinburg, would travel to adult day care centers around the Rio Grande Valley, ordering unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions for elderly and vulnerable clients. Pruneda, a medical assistant at Crosspoint, assisted Nahas in the scheme, helping forge patient signatures on consent forms and misappropriate expensive patient medications.
Source: Texas doctor and clinic employee found guilty of healthcare fraud / My Texas Daily