Federal Jury Convicts Clinic Owner in TRICARE Fraud and Kickback Scheme

FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal jury convicted Texas mental health clinic owner Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, in a scheme prosecutors said generated more than $26 million in fraudulent TRICARE claims.

Curry was convicted of three counts of health care fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal health care kickbacks and three counts involving monetary transactions in criminally derived property.

Federal prosecutors said Curry operated Acuity TMS clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, Texas, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. He allegedly billed TRICARE for transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments that were medically unnecessary or never provided.

Prosecutors said Curry paid more than $5.5 million in kickbacks to persuade active-duty service members, veterans and family members to participate in treatments for which some didn’t qualify or didn’t receive.

The clinics submitted more than $26 million in claims, with TRICARE paying approximately $17 million, according to evidence presented at trial.

Authorities also said Curry falsely represented himself as a medical doctor, used physicians’ credentials without permission and directed employees to create false medical records supporting the claims.

Federal prosecutors said Curry spent proceeds from the scheme on hotel stays, a casino-themed party and a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck valued at more than $100,000.

Curry is scheduled to be sentenced later. Each count carries a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with the final sentence to be determined by a federal judge.

The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, FBI, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

By: Montana Newsroom Wire