Texas doctor sentenced to 10 years in prison in one of the ‘most significant’ cases of patient harm

A Texas-based medical expert was sentenced Wednesday to years in prison for healthcare fraud after he carried out what prosecutors mentioned was a nearly two-decade scheme that involved falsely diagnosing thousands of patients with degenerative diseases and profiting handsomely off their treatments Jorge Zamora-Quezada a rheumatologist licensed to practice medicine in Texas Arizona and Massachusetts before being stripped of his licenses in each state raked in hundreds of millions of dollars for the misdiagnoses and cure he ordered during his roughly years as a healthcare practitioner The treatments included punishing rounds of chemotherapy intravenous infusions and a battery of other tests monthly visits and regular procedures associated with the medication of rheumatoid arthritis a chronic autoimmune condition for which there is no cure The sentencing and his earlier court appearances played out at times like a inquiry in contrasts Prosecutors detailed his extravagant lifestyle including a private jet properties across the U S including in Aspen and various towns in Mexico and a Maserati while the soundness of the patients he defrauded continued to worsen Prosecutors accused him of taking advantage of vulnerable individuals in Texas such as teenagers elderly individuals and disabled persons in order to carry out the scheme Several of them testified at Wednesday s hearing about the ongoing side effects they suffered as a impact of the medical professional s actions including receiving chemotherapy or IV infusions they did not need AMTRAK BILKED OUT OF M BY AT LEAST EMPLOYEES DOCTORS IN FRAUD SCHEME A MULTITUDE OF STILL ON THE JOB REPORTIt s one of the bulk egregious cases of its kind the Justice Department has brought in this space Matthew Galeotti head of the Justice Department Criminal Division explained Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview on Wednesday That s because of all of the various kinds of misconduct rolled into one he commented and because it was pervasive the scheme lasted more than years By the time you're towards the end of the scheme he knows the consequences several of these things have had on the casualties and he's going forward anyways he announced of the specialist The Justice Department's Criminal Division has been prosecuting this occurrence for years Unlike other departments it is one of the sparse where career and political staff alike are largely in lockstep with goals and cases that transcend partisan politics and seek instead to hold criminals like the Texas medical practitioner accountable Galeotti explained he sees the episode as emblematic of the Trump administration s goals to vindicate casualties and counter wasteful cabinet spending Even in cases where you don't see this level of misconduct where you're not prescribing someone chemotherapy medicine that doesn't need it which obviously sort of stands out on its own we still have a complication because you were wasting authorities funds that should be going to certainly benefiting patients Galeotti commented A BERLIN HEALTHCARE PROVIDER HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH THE KILLINGS OF PATIENTS UNDER PALLIATIVE CAREA separate Justice Department official explained Fox News Digital Zamora-Quezada s development was one of the preponderance important instances of subject harm that he had seen in at least a decade There was testimony about truly debilitating side effects from the medications things like strokes necrosis of the jawbone really the jawbone melting away hair loss liver damage the official announced The medical practitioner s actions were seen as particularly egregious in the Justice Department's telling because they sought to prey on lower-income communities in Texas targeting teenagers elderly persons and disabled individuals The specialist also operated in areas with less access to physiological care and with fewer native English speakers compared to other parts of the state Of class it's unfailingly the bulk twisted when you're benefiting from someone else's misfortune misfortune you caused and misfortune you used for your own personal enrichment Galeotti reported They're the hallmarks of the worst kind of conduct that you see Galeotti commented DOJ PROSECUTOR SUING TRANS MEDICINE WHISTLEBLOWER TAKEN OFF OCCURRENCE OVER APPARENT CONFLICT OF INTERESTZamora-Quezada was convicted by a jury in of seven counts of healthcare fraud one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of obstruction of justice His attorneys argued that the fraud was not pervasive in the way the regime made it out to be according to inhabitants court filings Prosecutors stated Zamora-Quezada purchased condominium properties in vacation towns including in Aspen San Diego and Puerto Vallarta Mexico They disclosed he commuted to his various doctors offices in Texas in a Maserati and a private jet both emblazoned with his initials ZQ His assets were forfeited after he was charged prosecutors explained Meanwhile they reported while Zamora-Quezada was living a life of luxury out of nearly Medicare patients he treated Zamora-Quezada diagnosed of them with rheumatoid arthritis Prosecutors compared that figures to seven other Texas rheumatologists who cumulatively diagnosed of their patients with the same condition Prosecutors petitioned for million in restitution but the judge required him to pay million Attorneys for Zamora-Quezada did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment