Sentencing in Forest Park Fraud Case Nearly Complete
Sentencing for the bulk of the defendants in the Forest Park Medical Center fraud case wrapped up Friday after three days of discussions.
Michael Rimlawi and Douglas Sung Won, both of Preston Hollow; Wade Barker, formerly of Highland Park; and Alan Beauchamp, who lives in the Turtle Creek neighborhood, were among those sentenced.
You can read more about the case here.
“Patient needs, not physician finances, should dictate where, when, and how patients are treated. Money should never be allowed to influence medical decisions,” said acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “We believe the stiff sentences handed down this week send a strong deterrent message: Violate anti-kickback laws, and you will face consequences.”
The Forest Park prosecution was one of the first cases in the nation to use the federal Travel Act to prosecute healthcare fraud.
Wilton McPherson “Mac” Burt, Iris Forrest, Shawn Henry, Mrugeshkumar Kumar Shah, Barker, Won, and Rimlawi were sentenced Wednesday and Thursday.
Jackson Jacob, Alan Andrew Beauchamp, Frank Gonzalez Jr., and Israel Ortiz were also sentenced this week.
Beauchamp, a hospital manager who pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges that he conspired to pay healthcare bribes, testified during the trial that Forest Park “bought surgeries,” and then “papered it up to make it look good.” He was senteced to five years and three months in prison.
Jacob, owner of the shell companies through which some of the bribes were routed, was found guilty on four counts, including conspiracy and three counts of paying kickbacks. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Ortiz, the founder of Kortmed, a company that fills out preauthorization for worker’s compensation patients, pleaded guilty in February 2017 to conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks. He was sentenced to a year in prison.
Gonzalez, a chiropractor who referred patients to Forest Park in return for bribes, pleaded guilty in August 2018. He was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.
David Daesung Kim, a bariatric surgeon, was not sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty after being accused of accepting bribes before the trial began and testified for the government.
