A federal jury in Fort Worth has convicted a Texas mental health clinic owner of orchestrating a $26 million fraud against TRICARE, the health care program for active-duty servicemembers, retirees and their families, in a scheme that prosecutors say funded luxury purchases including a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck worth more than $100,000.
Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, was found guilty Thursday on three counts of health care fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal health care kickbacks and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property, the Justice Department said.
According to evidence presented at trial, Curry owned and operated mental health clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, Texas, as well as Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Prosecutors said the clinics billed TRICARE for transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, therapy that was medically unnecessary or, in many cases, never provided.
Curry paid more than $5.5 million in illegal kickbacks to persuade active-duty servicemembers, veterans and their family members to consent to TMS therapy they did not qualify for and often did not receive, the Justice Department said. He also falsely represented himself as a medical doctor and used licensed doctors' credentials without their knowledge or consent to submit claims to TRICARE, according to authorities.
Prosecutors said Curry directed employees to fabricate medical records to justify the fraudulent billings. His clinics submitted more than $26 million in false, fraudulent or kickback-tainted claims to TRICARE, which ultimately paid approximately $17 million.
Authorities said Curry laundered some of the proceeds through luxury hotel stays, a lavish casino-themed party and the 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,» Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said in a statement.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said Curry «shamelessly preyed on the trust of servicemembers, veterans, and their families,» accusing him of fabricating medical records, stealing doctors' identities and submitting fraudulent claims while profiting from kickback-tainted money.
Curry is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each of the nine counts. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the Justice Department's Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. The conviction is part of a broader federal effort to crack down on health care fraud targeting military and taxpayer-funded programs.