McAllen woman convicted of Medicaid scheme
A McAllen federal jury has convicted the owner of a durable medical equipment company of causing millions in Medicaid fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
Maria Garza, 41, of McAllen, was found guilty of all 18 counts of causing others to submit false and fraudulent claims to Texas Medicaid for incontinence supplies that were not provided and/or were not authorized by a physician.
Garza, owner of Hacienda DME in McAllen, was found guilty of forging and/or causing others to forge the signatures of physicians on the required prescription forms, then billing or causing others to bill for larger, higher-paying sizes of pull-ups and diapers regardless of whether those sizes were needed or provided.
The jury heard that from March 2008 through August 2013, Garza sent false and fraudulent claims totaling approximately $2,505,064.50 to Texas Medicaid for DME allegedly provided to Texas Medicaid recipients. Texas Medicaid paid out $1,805,940.12 on the false and fraudulent claims.
The investigation was conducted by the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Day and Andrew Swartz are prosecuting the case.
Garza faces up to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and each of the 11 counts of health care fraud. For the two counts of witness tampering, the punishment is a possible 20-year-maximum sentence. She must also face an additional 24 months for the four counts of aggravated identity theft, which must be served consecutively to the other sentences imposed.
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- Juan A. Tony Marrero, Medicare Fraud Scheme, Miami FL, 2023 · Florida
- Camille Childress, Medicaid Scam, St. Louis MO, 2021 · Missouri
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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