At a hearing today in a U.S. District Court in San Angelo, Texas, U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings sentenced convicted 67-year-old Brownwood, Texas dentist James Crow to 70 months in federal prison on multiple offenses related to a healthcare fraud scheme he ran, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on or before October 26, 2011.
In addition, Judge Cummings ordered that Crow pay $1,653,474 in restitution to Texas Medicaid and forfeit $1,653,474 in cash, a truck, several Harley Davidson motorcycles, a residence located on Lakeview Court in Brownwood, additional real estate in Brown County Texas, a camper and trailer and a boat and trailer. Judge Cummings also found that Crow committed perjury during his testimony at trial.
Crow was convicted in May 2011, following a nearly two-week-long trial, on two counts of making false statements involving a health care matter and 15 counts of health care fraud. The government presented evidence that from January 2004 through December 2007, Crow filed, and caused to be filed, Medicaid claims for payment of services that he did not render and for payment of services that were billed with improper billing codes. Crow billed Medicaid for numerous resin-based composites restorations (cavity fillings), when in fact, either no such fillings were performed, or he instead performed other dental services not reimbursed by Medicaid.
The case was investigated by the Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Burch and Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Williams of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lubbock, Texas, prosecuted. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Jumes, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fort Worth, Texas, handled the forfeiture.
