Clinic owner gets 7 years for health care fraud scheme

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – A San Antonio businessman is going to federal prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar health care fraud scheme and he’ll have to pay the government more than $6 million in restitution.

Rafael Enrique Rodriguez, owner of  two 210 Workers clinics, has been sentenced to seven years after being convicted in June on six counts of health care fraud, five counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors say Rodriguez devised a scheme to defraud the Federal Employees Compensation Act, Office of Workers Compensation Program. He billed the program for physical therapy and treatment services that were supposed to be provided by qualified professionals, but prosecutors say those services actually were provided by unlicensed technicians. Rodriguez billed the program more than $7.5 million dollars and was paid more than $6 million for the fraudulently billed services.

Additionally, Rodriguez was convicted of using the identity of a licensed physical therapist to obtain provider registration with the program.

“This is not just a law-and-order issue. It’s also about making sure that Texans in need of medical treatment or other health care services can be confident that they are being told the truth about their care,” said U.S. Attorney John Bash.