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Press Release

Area Ambulance Company Owner Sentenced in Health Care Fraud Scheme

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

McALLEN, Texas ‐ The owner of Vic’s Texas Transport, Inc. (dba Victory EMS) has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Victor Lee Gonzalez, 28, of Mission, pleaded guilty Sept, 22, 2015.

Today, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa, handed Gonzalez a 30-month sentence for the fraud. He also received a mandatory 24-month term for the identity theft which must be served consecutively for a total sentence of 54 months in prison.  He was further ordered to pay $458,904.45 in restitution. In handing down the sentence, Judge Hinojosa noted that the sentence was appropriate to promote respect for the law and to deter future criminal conduct of the defendant. Gonzalez will also be required to serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.

As part of the plea, Gonzalez admitted he submitted claims with Medicare and Texas Medicaid for reimbursement of ambulance transportation services that were not provided. To further execute his scheme to defraud, Gonzalez used the Texas Medicaid number of a patient to submit false and fraudulent billings to Texas Medicaid. The aggregate sum of the false and fraudulent claims submitted by Gonzalez was $1,080,213 to Medicare and Texas Medicaid. As a result of those fraudulent claims, Medicare and Texas Medicaid paid approximately $458,904.45.

Gonzalez, whose bond was previously revoked in the case, will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services‐Office of Inspector General and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Day and Linda Requenez are prosecuting the case.

Updated January 27, 2016

Topic
Health Care Fraud