DALLAS – Daniel Ramiro Canchola, 54, of Flower Mound, Texas, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $34 million in restitution for his role in a $54 million health care fraud scheme. The scheme, uncovered by Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, centered around writing fraudulent prescriptions for durable medical equipment (DME) and cancer genomic testing.
“Fraud schemes like this erode trust in our health care system and exploit hard-earned taxpayer dollars,” said Attorney General Paxton. “We will pursue and bring to justice anyone who undermines public programs meant to help Texans.”
From August 2018 to April 2019, Dr. Canchola received illegal kickbacks to electronically sign DME and cancer genomic testing authorizations for patients he had never seen. These orders, used to submit over $54 million in false claims, were often solicited through telemarketing campaigns and health fairs, misleading government healthcare beneficiaries into receiving unnecessary tests and equipment.
The case was investigated by Sergeant Michelle Killinger, Captain Justin Boyce, and Investigative Auditor Jennifer Pernell-Blakely of Attorney General Paxton’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, in cooperation with HHS-OIG. The case was prosecuted by the DOJ Health Care Fraud Strike Force.
Since 2021, the MFCU has recovered more than $612 million in settlements, judgments, and restitution for Texas taxpayers. The MFCU receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $20,944,200 for fiscal year 2023. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $6,981,395, is funded by the State of Texas. For every dollar of state funding, the OAG’s MFCU has recovered more than 49 dollars for taxpayers over the last 3 years.