Twin doctors plead guilty in $45M insurance fraud scheme
Two doctors in Dallas charged in a $12 million healthcare fraud scheme have pleaded guilty and could each face up to 10 years in prison.
Twin brothers Desi Barroga, MD, and Deno Barroga, MD, operated a pain management clinic and were accused of billing insurers for $45 million in injections that they never gave patients. Further, the duo would give patients prescriptions for controlled substances, specifically opioids, in exchange for the patients billing their insurance for services not delivered, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement.
The DoJ said the doctors would also require patients to visit their clinic monthly to get the opioids, where patients would then submit claims for injections of corticosteroid that they did not receive. The Barroga brothers allegedly falsified medical records as part of the scheme.
As part of a plea deal for admitting to one count of fraud each, both men agreed to immediately surrender their DEA registrations and to forfeit their medical licenses. They also agreed to pay restitution in an amount to be determined in court, the DoJ said.
The DoJ said the Barroga’s instructed patients to provide false statements about treatments they received. In one case outlined in court documents, a single patient was billed for 80 “injections” in one day.
The brothers pocketed at least $9 million illegitimately, according to the DoJ. They await sentencing for the healthcare fraud charges.
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