Authorities: Doctor bought jet, Maserati with money from unnecessary chemo treatments
A South Texas doctor was in federal court Tuesday, answering to charges that he was involved in a $240 million health care fraud and international money laundering scam that made him rich enough to buy a private jet, a Maserati, a Porsche and high-end real estate in the United States and Mexico.
Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quezada, 61, of Mission, pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He바카라 게임 웹사이트s accused of misdiagnosing patients, possibly putting their lives in danger, so he could bill the government for unneeded expensive treatments that fed his lavish lifestyle.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The allegations that Zamora-Quezada violated his oath to do no harm by administering unnecessary chemotherapy and other toxic medications to patients with serious diseases 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including some of the most vulnerable victims imaginable 바카라 게임 웹사이트 are almost beyond comprehension,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department바카라 게임 웹사이트s Criminal Division.
Zamora-Quzada바카라 게임 웹사이트s clinics, which carried various names that included the Center for Arthritis and Osteoporosis, were based in the Rio Grande Valley. He also ran the Angeles Multi-Specialty Clinic in the Medical Center of San Antonio.
The indictment, returned May 9, said that from 2000 through last week, Zamora-Quezada and unnamed co-conspirators falsely diagnosed vulnerable patients 바카라 게임 웹사이트 including the young, elderly and disabled from San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere 바카라 게임 웹사이트 with various degenerative diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. He and his co-conspirators then administered chemotherapy and other toxic medications to the patients based on that false diagnosis, the indictments allege.
In addition to falsely diagnosing patients, the indictment continues, Zamora-Quezada and his co-conspirators conducted a battery of fraudulent, repetitive and excessive medical procedures on patients in order to increase revenue and pay for the rheumatologist바카라 게임 웹사이트s 바카라 게임 웹사이트lavish and opulent lifestyle.바카라 게임 웹사이트
The FBI San Antonio office took to Twitter on Monday night to try to find more of Zamora-Quezada바카라 게임 웹사이트s patients. On Tuesday, special agent Michelle Lee, spokeswoman for the FBI바카라 게임 웹사이트s San Antonio office, reiterated that the agency is looking for patients who might need help.
The FBI is 바카라 게임 웹사이트concerned there were potential victims who were misdiagnosed and may be continuing treatment based on that,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Lee said, adding that winter Texans and Mexican nationals who live in Texas might have gone to Zamora-Quezada.
Patients of Zamora-Quezada who believe they were affected by the alleged crimes should call the FBI victim바카라 게임 웹사이트s hotline, 833-432-4873, Option 8, or email the task forces at ZamoraPatient@fbi.gov, Lee said.
The FBI is legally mandated to identify victims of federal crimes that it investigates and provide these victims with information, assistance services and resources.
A phone recording at the San Antonio clinic on Datapoint Drive tells callers that the office has been shut down and instructs patients to call a phone number for the clinic in Edinburg for their medical records. The Express-온라인 바카라 게임 left a message for the doctor there; the call had not been returned as of late Tuesday.
Cronan made the announcement this week along with Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Ryan J. Patrick√; Special Agent in Charge C.J. Porter√ of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General바카라 게임 웹사이트s Dallas region and Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs√ of the FBI바카라 게임 웹사이트s San Antonio field office.
The indictment alleges Zamora-Quezada and his co-conspirators obstructed investigations by causing the creation of false patient records and concealed thousands of medical records from Medicare by stashing them in an unsecured and dilapidated barn located in the Rio Grande Valley.
The indictment also alleges Zamora-Quezada and his co-conspirators flew in Zamora-Quezada바카라 게임 웹사이트s $1 million private jet or drove in his Maserati, both emblazoned with his initials 바카라 게임 웹사이트ZQ,바카라 게임 웹사이트 between his offices in the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio, in order to perpetuate the fraud. In addition to buying the jet and luxury cars, Zamora-Quezada and the co-conspirators are accused of buying clothing from exclusive designers, including Louis Vuitton.
The properties they are accused of acquiring include two penthouses in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; a condominium in Aspen, Colorado; a condominium in Punta Mita, Mexico; and multiple homes and commercial properties located throughout Texas. He then created the false appearance of legitimate wealth and income by renting the various commercial and residential properties that he acquired to individuals and entities. Zamora-Quezada and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered the proceeds through a casa de cambio, or money exchange house, to various accounts maintained by financial institutions in Mexico.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of his jet, Maserati and multiple residential and commercial properties in the United States and Mexico.
The FBI investigated the case with the the Rio Grande Valley Health Care Fraud Task Force and the McAllen Complex Financial Crimes Task Force, which are comprised of investigators from Texas Department of Insurance, police departments in McAllen and Pharr and the Texas Health and Human Service Commission.