Surgeon Drains $145,000,000 From US Government and Blue Cross in Massive Fraud Scheme: DOJ

An orthopedic surgeon in Texas orchestrated a massive fraud scheme that drained more than $100 million from the healthcare system, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ says 61-year-old Michael Taba accepted bribes and kickbacks from pharmacy owners to prescribe medication that was unnecessary.

Between May 2014 and March 2017, prosecutors say Taba helped the pharmacies bill the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Worker Compensation Program (DOL-OWCP) and Blue Cross Blue Shield more than $145 million, pocketing $90 million in the process.

The DOJ says the medication prescribed by Taba was found to be mixed by untrained teenagers in the backrooms of the pharmacies and were described as ineffective by patients.

Says Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito of the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General,

“Dr. Michael Taba accepted bribes and kickbacks for writing thousands of prescriptions for unnecessary compounded medications issued to injured federal workers covered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, putting illegal profits above patients’ safety.”

This week, a judge just sentenced Taba to 102 months in prison. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of health care fraud in November of 2023.

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