Jury convicts Austin doctor of $2.1 million in Medicare fraud [View all]

[TexasTowelie]

After a seven-day trial, a Houston jury convicted Dr. Dennis B. Barson Jr., 44, of Austin, and his clinic administrator, Dario Juarez, 54, of Beeville, of conspiracy and health care fraud after they billed Medicare $2.1 million over a two-month period, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced Wednesday evening.

Co-defendant Edgar Shakbazyan, whose address and age were not provided, pleaded guilty Oct. 24 and was convicted of conspiracy to pay kickbacks, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Prosecutors said the fraudulent billing was for tests for urinary, bowel and sexual dysfunction that were never performed. The Houston FBI and the Texas Attorney General’s Office were among the agencies that worked on the case.

Barson and Juarez were convicted of 19 counts of health care fraud for filing false claims with Medicare for the procedures. The counts involved billings for 429 patients in just two months, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In a single day, on July 13, 2009, they billed for 156 patients, prosecutors said.

Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/jury-convicts-austin-doctor-of-21-million-in-medic/nh2Kz/