Texas Clinic Owner Convicted in $26 Million TRICARE Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in Fort Worth convicted a Texas mental health clinic owner after prosecutors said he used sham or medically unnecessary transcranial magnetic stimulation treatments to extract millions of dollars from TRICARE, the military health benefits program.

Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, was convicted Thursday, September 24, on three counts of health care fraud, three counts involving illegal health care kickbacks and three counts of conducting monetary transactions with criminally derived property, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The verdict followed a case centered on Acuity TMS, which operated clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, Texas, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Prosecutors said Curry directed the submission of claims for TMS therapy that was not provided, was medically unnecessary or did not qualify for reimbursement.

The scale of the alleged billing was substantial but differs from the amount TRICARE actually paid. Acuity submitted more than $26.88 million in claims, according to the Justice Department, and TRICARE paid approximately $17.08 million. That means the program paid roughly 63.5% of the amount billed.

Prosecutors said Curry offered or paid more than $5.5 million in kickbacks to persuade service members, veterans and family members to agree to TMS treatment. In some cases, the patients allegedly did not qualify for the therapy or did not receive it.

The government also said Curry falsely presented himself as a medical doctor and used the credentials of physicians without their knowledge or consent when submitting claims. Employees were directed to create medical records intended to support the billing, prosecutors said.

The case illustrates why health care fraud can be difficult to identify from a single claim. Reimbursement systems generally depend on documentation: a diagnosis, an eligible patient, a qualified provider and a record showing that the service was performed. When those elements are fabricated or distorted, a treatment can appear legitimate on paper even when the underlying care is absent or unnecessary.

The alleged proceeds were not confined to ordinary operating expenses. The Justice Department said Curry spent some of the money on hotel stays, a casino-themed party and a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck valued at more than $100,000. Authorities previously said they seized approximately $136,022 in cash and the truck, with total seized assets valued at about $200,000.

Curry's conviction resolves the jury's determination of criminal liability, but not the final consequences. He has not yet been sentenced. Each of the nine counts carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, although the ultimate sentence will depend on the federal sentencing guidelines and other factors considered by the district judge.

The investigation was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI's Dallas field office, the Texas Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas and the Justice Department's health care fraud attorneys.

For military families, the case is about more than a large dollar figure. TRICARE is intended to pay for legitimate care for people connected to the armed forces. When false claims enter that system, the damage includes the money paid, the investigative resources required to unwind the scheme and the possibility that patients were steered toward treatment they did not need or receive.