A Texas man was sentenced Friday to 90 months in prison for his role in a $59.9 million conspiracy to pay kickbacks and submit claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare.
According to court documents, Patrick Cassells, 65, of Fulshear, Texas, owned and operated three DME companies and concealed his role in one of those companies by falsely identifying another individual as the sole owner and manager in a Medicare enrollment application. Cassells paid illegal kickbacks to co-conspirators who sent him signed doctors’ orders and other paperwork necessary to bill Medicare for orthotic braces such as knee, back, shoulder and wrist braces. The kickbacks were disguised by referring to the doctors’ orders as “leads” and the services provided as “marketing.” Based on these orders, which were issued without doctors examining or treating the patients, Cassells submitted claims to Medicare that falsely represented that the braces were medically necessary. In total, through the three companies, Cassells caused over $59.9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, for which Medicare paid over $27 million. Cassells used proceeds of the fraud to purchase personal vehicles and vehicles that he intended to export to Nigeria.
In June 2024, Cassells pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
In addition to the prison sentence, Cassells was ordered to pay $25,402,614.97 in restitution and forfeiture, and to forfeit four vehicles and three properties in the Houston area.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei for the Southern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region; Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI’s Houston Field Office; and Chief William Marlow of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit made the announcement.
HHS-OIG, FBI, and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case.
Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner and Trial Attorney Adam Tisdall of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson for the Southern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
