Cedar Hill Doc Faces $1.1M Fraud Charge

TYLER, Texas – A Dallas County physician has been indicted for a multi-million-dollar health care fraud scheme that bilked Medicare and Medicaid out of over $1.1 million.

Tariq Mahmood, 61, from Cedar Hill, Texas, was charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and seven counts of health care fraud. The indictment came down on April 11, 2013.

According to the charges, Mahmood, a general practitioner who owned multiple hospitals in Texas, including Cozby Germany Hospital in Grand Saline, is accused of orchestrating a fraudulent billing scheme that involved submitting false and misleading claims. The doctor and his co-conspirators are said to have altered diagnostic codes to defraud the government.

Prosecutors claim that Mahmood’s illegal activities resulted in more than $375,000 in payouts from Medicare and Medicaid. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each charge.

The investigation into Mahmood’s fraud was conducted by a team of federal agents, including members of the Texas Office of the Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (OAG-MFCU), the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld is leading the prosecution.

Any witnesses or individuals with information about health care fraud are encouraged to call the Department of Health and Human Services’ fraud hotline at 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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