A Texas doctor has been sentenced to over ten years in prison for his involvement in a scheme to defraud Medicare. Dr. Daniel R. Canchola, aged 54, from Flower Mound, was ordered to pay more than $34 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Court documents revealed that Canchola agreed to electronically sign orders for durable medical equipment (DME) and cancer genetic testing without having seen or treated the patients involved. He received approximately $30 for each order he signed between August 2018 and April 2019, accumulating over $466,000 in kickbacks. These orders facilitated the submission of more than $54 million in false claims to Medicare.
The fraudulent activities targeted Medicare beneficiaries through telemarketing campaigns and health fairs, encouraging them to undergo unnecessary cancer genetic testing and receive DME.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri announced the sentencing alongside Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office, and Chief William Marlowe of the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).
The case was investigated by HHS-OIG and MFCU, with prosecution led by Assistant Chief Brynn Schiess and Trial Attorney Ethan Womble from the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
This sentencing is part of broader efforts by the Justice Department's Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has charged over 5,400 defendants since its inception in March 2007. The program aims to combat health care fraud across federal districts.
For further information on healthcare fraud initiatives, visit www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.