Medicaid fraud allegations target critical autism services
Allegations of Medicaid fraud involving applied behavioral analysis therapy for children with autism are putting families on alert. Christina Coleman examines the growth of fraudulent billing and speaks with mother Lindsey Chaney and Kelsey Bennett of the Autism Families Alliance about how these schemes are affecting families.
The owner of a Texas mental health clinic has been convicted in federal court after prosecutors accused him of masterminding a $26 million fraud scheme targeting the military’s health care program. Authorities said he used some of the proceeds for extravagant purchases, including a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck valued at more than $100,000.
Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, was found guilty Thursday in Fort Worth of three health care fraud counts, three counts involving the offering or payment of illegal health care kickbacks and three counts of conducting monetary transactions with criminally derived property, the Justice Department said.
Prosecutors said Curry took advantage of TRICARE, the federal health program for active-duty service members, military retirees and their families. His clinics allegedly billed the program for transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, treatments that were medically unnecessary or never administered.
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Federal prosecutors said Kevin Curry bought this gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck with money generated through a $26 million scheme targeting TRICARE. (DOJ)
Trial evidence showed that Curry owned and ran mental health clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, Texas, along with another location in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Prosecutors said he paid more than $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks to persuade active-duty service members, veterans and relatives to agree to TMS therapy for which they did not qualify and, in many cases, never received.
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Judge Leonie Brinkema said the issues at the center of a lawsuit involving the Anti-Weaponization Fund remain “alive and kicking,” even as the Justice Department maintains that the fund no longer exists. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The Justice Department alleged that Curry falsely portrayed himself as a medical doctor, used the credentials of licensed physicians without their permission and instructed employees to create fake medical records to support the claims submitted to TRICARE.
According to the department, Curry’s clinics filed more than $26 million in false, fraudulent or kickback-tainted claims. TRICARE paid out roughly $17 million on those claims.
Justice Department attorneys asked a federal judge Friday to throw out a lawsuit challenging the Anti-Weaponization Fund, saying Attorney General Todd Blanche officially ended the fund on Aug. 2. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Prosecutors also accused Curry of laundering part of the proceeds through luxury hotel bookings, an extravagant casino-themed party and the purchase of a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck worth more than $100,000.
“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.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said Curry “shamelessly preyed on the trust of servicemembers, veterans, and their families.” Raybould accused him of falsifying medical records, misusing doctors’ identities and filing fraudulent, kickback-tainted claims for profit.
Curry will be sentenced later and could receive up to 10 years in prison for each of the nine counts. The federal district judge will set the sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors required by law.