A Texas physician tricked his unwitting patients with false diagnoses in order to support his extravagant lifestyle, indulging in private jets and luxury sports cars. This was part of a $118 million healthcare fraud which led to him being sentenced to ten years in prison.
The rheumatologist, Jorge Zamora-Quezada, manipulated both patients and insurance providers by wrongly diagnosing individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic and incurable disease, despite them actually being healthy.
The 68-year-old orchestrated this fraudulent scheme from his office located in Mission, Texas, with the aid of his staff, who were reportedly intimidated and mistreated under his authority, according to the Department of Justice.
The disgraced health care provider led patients to believe they were suffering from chronic illnesses and they would pay unnecessary and costly treatments and testing that included a variety of injections, infusions, x-rays, MRIs, and other procedures
The regimens included the administration of toxic medications that had potentially harmful and even deadly side effects.
Zamora-Quezada also falsified medical records of his patients to secure insurance funds from providers by falsifying medical.
He defrauded $28 million from Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Other doctors in the Rio Grande Valley testified against Zamora-Quezada during the 25-day trial, revealing the surprising findings when they treated hundreds of patients, believing they had RA.
“For most (patients) it was obvious that they did not have rheumatoid arthritis,” one rheumatologist testified.
The dangerous treatments Zamora-Quezada prescribed caused patients to develop debilitating side effects, including strokes, necrosis of the jawbone, hair loss and liver damage.
Other victims developed pain so severe that they were left unable to perform simple, everyday tasks.
“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.
The corrupt 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.
Calling himself “eminencia” — or eminence, Zamora-Quezada built a work atmosphere of fear and authority.
Zamora-Quezada would use his employees as models for ultrasounds that he would include as part of a fabricated missing patients file if he were audited by an insurer.
Thousands of patient files were stored in a separate shed ravaged by rodents and termites — most documents covered in feces and urine.
If he was questioned on missing patients’ records, the doctor would order his staffers to make files “appear.”
Zamora-Quezada used the millions in takings to build an expansive real estate portfolio complete with 13 separate properties in the US and Mexico, purchased a two-engine plane and a Maserati GranTurismo.
“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. “His depraved conduct represents a profound betrayal of trust toward vulnerable patients who depend on care and integrity from their doctors.”
Zamora-Quezada 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 to 10 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $28,245,454, his real estate portfolio, jet and Maserati.
“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.
