Texas COVID Billing Cases Yield $20M Settlement, Indictment

Two separate Texas cases involve alleged fraud against the federal COVID-19 Uninsured Program. In one, Plano clinics and their owner, Dr. Mohammed Amer Mohiuddin, agreed to pay $20 million to settle allegations that they billed higher-level office-visit codes for patients who received only nasal-swab collection, using fabricated medical records to support the claims. In the other, Houston physician Dr. Joseph A. Montes was indicted on 12 federal counts; prosecutors allege he and others billed about $30 million for office visits that never occurred at pop-up testing sites, and the government paid about $20 million. The Plano settlement resolves allegations, while the charges against Montes remain allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.