A McAllen doctor and a clinic worker were convicted of running a scheme that milked millions from healthcare system by exploiting vulnerable elderly patients, authorities said. On Thursday, a federal jury found Dr. Osama Nahas, 69, and Isabel Pruneda, 53, guilty of healthcare fraud, among other charges, after they ordered unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions in exchange for kickbacks.
"Nahas and Pruneda preyed on the elderly by bribing their way into adult care facilities, abusing the trust and respect that doctors and medical professionals ordinarily deserve," stated U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani in a release. The doctor and his aide were accused of defrauding the system from January 2016 to December 2017, directing lucrative prescriptions and tests to companies in turn for illegal payouts. According to a Justice Department statement, they pocketed tens of thousands of dollars through this elaborate fraud.
During the two-week trial, jurors heard how Pruneda, who worked as a medical assistant at Crosspoint Medical Clinic in Edinburg, assisted Nahas by forging patient signatures and pilfering expensive medications to distribute as bribes. These bribes were also offered to adult daycare owners disguised as "rent" payments just to secure access to facilities. The jury took around three hours to conclude that both Nahas and Pruneda were guilty as charged.
Despite Nahas's attempt to convince the jury that the payments he received were legitimate "rent" payments, and Pruneda's claims of merely following orders, the outcome was clear-cut. A search warrant executed at Crosspoint in June 2018 unearthed an astounding stash of stolen medications worth hundreds of thousands, further undermining their defense. Both defendants face a hefty prison time and fines, with sentencing set for May 16, as disclosed in the Justice Department's announcement.
While Pruneda has been taken into custody, Nahas remains on bond with detention hearings scheduled for early March. The case has been a cooperative effort between the FBI, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Texas Health and Human Services - OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Swartz and Brad Gray carried the prosecution, aiming to ensure that such exploitation of the healthcare system and vulnerable population does not go unpunished.
