A Texas doctor, Daniel R. Canchola, 54, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years and one month in prison and ordered to pay over $34 million in restitution for defrauding Medicare by prescribing medical equipment and cancer genetic tests without seeing or treating patients, officials stated.
From August 2018 to April 2019, Canchola agreed to sign orders for durable medical equipment (DME) and cancer genetic testing in exchange for $30 per order, knowing they would be used to submit false Medicare claims, according to authorities.
These unnecessary or unused orders earned him more than $466,000 in kickbacks and led to over $54 million in false Medicare claims.
Telemarketers and health fairs targeted Medicare beneficiaries, persuading them to undergo tests and receive equipment regardless of medical need. Canchola pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October 2022.
Assistant Chief Brynn Schiess and Trial Attorney Ethan Womble of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.