A Texas orthopedic surgeon was sentenced to 8.5 years in federal prison on Tuesday for his involvement in a $145 million health-care fraud scheme that targeted injured federal workers and government insurance programs. According to the United States Department of Justice, Dr. Michael Taba, 61, of McKinney, Texas, was sentenced to 102 months in prison and forced to pay more than $13 million in restitution for conspiracy and health care fraud convictions.
Prosecutors said the sentence underscores the seriousness of health-care fraud linked to government benefit programs, as well as continued attempts to collect taxpayer funds and protect patients. About two and a half years have passed since a federal jury in the Northern District of Texas found Taba guilty.
The evidence at trial revealed that Taba accepted bribes and kickbacks from drugstore owners in exchange for dispensing medically unnecessary pricey compound creams and billed the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (DOL-OWCP) and insurers. These creams were prepared at a low cost but billed at up to $16,000 per prescription, and patients claimed they were ineffective or caused side effects…