Texas – A Texas doctor faces up to 15 years in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of accepting more than $200,000 in kickbacks in exchange for directing patient laboratory work to certain facilities, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced.

Dr., 60, an internal medicine physician based in the Katy area. Hector Ubaldo was convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks and unlawful soliciting and receiving kickbacks. The jury reached its verdict in just 14 minutes after a two-day trial.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Dr. Ubaldo would receive cash from “marketers” and in turn send patients’ blood and urine samples to specific laboratories, such as RK Clinical, who would then bill insurance companies and Medicare for the work. diagnostic tests.

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In court, prosecutors, Dr. He presented evidence showing that Ubaldo received more than $253,000 in bribes. One laboratory managed to bill insurers nearly $3.4 million for diagnostic tests. Relevant laboratories, including RK Clinical, benefited from this arrangement. In a video recorded by one of the marketers at a meeting, Dr. “Honestly, I need money,” Ubaldo was heard saying. He later added, “The minimum amount I’m willing to (expletive) take on a monthly basis is about $10,000.”

Dr. Hector Ubaldo (Courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, North District of Texas)

The plan also includes Dr. It involved making fake medical consulting agreements in which Ubaldo was expected to provide consulting services in exchange for a monthly payment. But evidence showed that these agreements were a cover to receive kickbacks for sending patient samples to specific laboratories.

Dr. Ubaldo was taken into custody following his conviction and is awaiting sentencing. His possible 15-year sentence includes five years for the conspiracy charge and 10 years for the solicitation and receipt charge.

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Kelly Nelson, owner of RK Clinical, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 months in prison in May. The marketer involved also pleaded guilty ahead of trial and now faces up to five years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl and Nancy Larson, with U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman presiding.

More than 15 doctors, marketers and laboratory owners have been prosecuted in the Northern District of Texas in recent years in connection with health care kickback schemes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.