Mental health scammer buys gold-plated Cybertruck with $17M stolen from Tricare
The owner of three mental health clinics in Texas and Florida has been convicted by a federal jury for his role in a $26 million healthcare fraud scheme targeting the military’s medical coverage program, with the defendant allegedly using stolen funds to make luxury purchases, including a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Kevin Curry, 64, was billing Tricare for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a therapy used to treat major depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Curry was billing for the service at his clinics without medical necessity, offering kickbacks to service members, veterans and their families to agree to TMS—and in some cases, never administering it at all.
Prosecutors said during the course of the scheme, he paid out over $5.5 million in kickbacks, presenting himself as a medical doctor in an effort to convince his patients to comply with the treatment.
He was also found to have used an actual doctor’s credentials to bill Tricare, without the person’s knowledge.
In total, he defrauded the government healthcare program of more than $17 million, prosecutors said. Of that money, over $100,000 was used to buy the gold-plated Cybertruck.
He had attempted to steal even more, billing Tricare for over $26 million in bogus services, authorities added.
“Kevin Curry shamelessly preyed on the trust of servicemembers, veterans, and their families, siphoning millions from Tricare through lies and coercion,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould stated. “He fabricated medical records, stole doctors’ identities and clogged the system with fraudulent claims, all while lining his pockets with kickback-tainted money.”
“This conviction sends an unmistakable message that those who manipulate our military community and defraud federal healthcare programs will face the full force of federal prosecution.”
A failed plan to conceal and launder
In an effort to cover his tracks, the DOJ said Curry instructed his employees to fabricate medical records to make claims submitted to Tricare seem legitimate. As for what prosecutors called “money laundering,” that was largely done through lavish spending at hotels and casinos, in addition to his new vehicle plated in precious metal.
A jury convicted the former mental health entrepreneur on three counts of healthcare fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal kickbacks, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property.
He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count, the DOJ added. Sentencing has been scheduled for a later date.
A timeline for when the scheme occurred was not provided in the announcement.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.