A jury has convicted the owner of a Texas mental health clinic for a $26 million TRICARE fraud, kickback and money laundering scheme.
Licensed professional counselor Kevin Curry, 64, of Frisco, Texas, was found guilty Sept. 24 in Fort Worth of health care fraud, kickbacks and money laundering, according to the Department of Justice. The jury convicted Curry of three counts of health care fraud, three counts of offering and paying illegal health care kickbacks, and three counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminal derived property.
“Kevin Curry shamelessly preyed on the trust of service members, veterans, and their families, siphoning millions from TRICARE through lies and coercion, said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould in a statement. “He fabricated medical records, stole doctors’ identities and clogged the system with fraudulent claims, all while lining his pockets with kickback‑tainted money.
“This conviction sends an unmistakable message that those who manipulate our military community and defraud federal healthcare programs will face the full force of federal prosecution.”
The DOJ release was accompanied by an image of a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck belonging to Curry, costing more than $100,000 and purchased with the fraudulent funds he obtained.
How Curry Was Caught
Curry’s legal transgressions revolved around TRICARE, the U.S. military’s health care program that acts as government-managed health insurance.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Curry orchestrated a scheme to bill TRICARE for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy that was medically unnecessary or not provided.
He was able to do that, according to DOJ, due to being the owner and operator of two purported mental health clinics in Texas: Acuity TMS of Plano LLC and Acuity TMS of Fort Worth LLC, in addition to another purported mental health clinic in Florida called Emerald Coast TMS of Fort Walton Beach LLC (collectively, Acuity).
Curry was reportedly offered and paid over $5.5 million in kickbacks to convince active-duty service members, veterans and their family members “to consent to TMS therapy they did not qualify for and, in many instances, did not receive.”
He falsely held himself out to be a medical doctor but used actual doctors’ credentials without their knowledge and consent to bill TRICARE as part of the scheme.
The DOJ said that efforts to conceal his fraud involved Curry directing employees to fabricate medical records that he submitted to TRICARE to justify his fraudulent billings.
Acuity ultimately billed TRICARE for more than $26 million in false, fraudulent and kickback-tainted TMS claims, based on which TRICARE paid approximately $17 million.
Curry laundered some of the proceeds by spending money on hotels and a lavish casino-themed party, in addition to the aforementioned Cybertruck.
Curry’s Sentencing Date and Guidelines
Curry’s sentencing date remains pending.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count, and a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the Department of Department’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), FBI, and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG).
“Kevin Curry shamelessly preyed on the trust of service members, veterans, and their families, siphoning millions from TRICARE through lies and coercion, said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould in a statement. “He fabricated medical records, stole doctors’ identities and clogged the system with fraudulent claims, all while lining his pockets with kickback‑tainted money.
“This conviction sends an unmistakable message that those who manipulate our military community and defraud federal healthcare programs will face the full force of federal prosecution.”
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