HOUSTON – In a shocking turn of events, Donald Gibson II, a 57-year-old Sugar Land physician, has been sentenced to 52 months in federal prison for his role in a massive diagnostic testing scam that duped Medicare and Medicaid out of a staggering $19.4 million.
Gibson, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud on April 1, 2013, was handed down the sentence by U.S. District Judge Lynn H. Hughes, who took into consideration Gibson’s cooperation with federal authorities.
As part of the scam, Gibson ordered and authorized medically unnecessary diagnostic tests and procedures, including allergy tests, pulmonary function tests, and physical therapy, which were then billed to Medicare and Medicaid for payment under his billing number.
Gibson worked in conjunction with the owners and operators of medical clinics and diagnostic testing centers in the Houston area, who paid patients to show up for testing and also recruited patients to bring to the clinics for the unnecessary procedures.
From January 2007 through January 2012, Gibson caused Medicare and Texas Medicaid Programs to be defrauded out of more than $19.4 million, resulting in approximately $8.5 million being deposited into a bank account owned and controlled by Gibson.
The U.S. District Court also ordered Gibson to pay restitution in the amount of $6,943,478.87, which will be applied to the $3,129,175 already seized by the government from Gibson’s assets.
Gibson’s co-defendant, Sunday Joseph Edem, is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hughes on November 18, 2013.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Leuchtmann are prosecuting this case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson overseeing the asset forfeiture.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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