Local Nurse Heads to Prison for Healthcare Fraud and Kickback Convictions

HOUSTON – A 51-year old nurse from Sugar Land is headed to federal prison following his convictions of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud and conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. A federal jury returned the guilty verdicts against John Dubor May 17, 2018, after deliberating less than six hours following a three-day trial.

Today, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen handed Dubor a 109-month sentence to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard arguments regarding the loss to the Medicare program and ordered Dubor to pay $3,534,972 in restitution.

Dubor owned and operated Care Committers Health Services home health agency in Richmond. During the trial, the jury heard evidence that Dubor paid marketers and group home owners for Medicare beneficiary information and subsequently billed Medicare and Medicaid for home health services for which the beneficiaries did not qualify and/or did not receive. 

Additionally, Dubor personally falsified home health patient assessment forms to make the beneficiaries appear sicker on paper to receive higher reimbursement rates from Medicare. Dubor also instructed his employees to falsify home health certifications and forge physician signatures. The beneficiaries, some of whom, resided in Nacogdoches, had no recollection of ever being treated by the Houston physicians listed on their home health orders. Medicare paid Dubor approximately $3.5 million.

Dubor was taken into custody following the jury trial where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Justin Blan and AUSA Tina Ansari are prosecuting the case.