A federal jury in Fort Worth convicted a Frisco mental health clinic owner Thursday on nine counts stemming from a $26 million scheme to defraud TRICARE, the military’s health care program, according to the Justice Department.
Kevin D. Curry, 64, was found guilty of three counts of health care fraud, three counts of paying illegal health care kickbacks, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.
Prosecutors said Curry billed TRICARE, which serves active-duty servicemembers, retirees and their families, for transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy that was either medically unnecessary or never actually delivered to patients.
Curry owned and ran mental health clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, Texas, and in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. According to trial evidence, he paid more than $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks to induce active-duty servicemembers, veterans and family members to agree to TMS therapy they did not qualify for and, in many cases, never received.
The Justice Department said Curry falsely presented himself as a medical doctor and used licensed physicians’ credentials without their knowledge to submit claims to TRICARE. He also directed employees to falsify medical records to support the fraudulent billing, prosecutors said.
In all, Curry’s clinics submitted more than $26 million in false, fraudulent or kickback-tainted claims, and TRICARE paid out roughly $17 million of that amount, authorities said.
Prosecutors said Curry funneled some of the proceeds into personal luxuries, including extended stays at high-end hotels, a casino-themed party, and a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck valued at more than $100,000.
“This defendant exploited a critical health care program serving active-duty servicemembers and their families, diverting taxpayer dollars to bankroll personal luxuries ranging from hotel stays to a casino-themed party and even a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said Curry “shamelessly preyed on the trust of servicemembers, veterans, and their families,” adding that he fabricated medical records, stole doctors’ identities and submitted fraudulent claims while profiting from kickback-tainted funds.
Curry faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on each of the nine counts. A sentencing date has not yet been set, and a federal district court judge will determine the sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
