A Texas doctor who told healthy patients they were sick—just so he could splurge on a private jet, a Maserati, and dozens of properties—has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars in one of the most shocking medical fraud cases in recent history.
Jorge Zamora-Quezada, a 68-year-old rheumatologist from Mission, Texas, was convicted of defrauding both his patients and major insurance programs out of $118 million. His scam? Diagnosing people with rheumatoid arthritis even though they never had it.
Patients were subjected to painful and unnecessary treatments, including injections, infusions, and scans—some receiving toxic medications with severe side effects like strokes, liver damage, and even necrosis of the jawbone.
“I didn’t feel like my life had any meaning,” one victim told the court after enduring relentless, bogus treatment. Another mother said her child was treated like a “lab rat.”
The Department of Justice revealed that Zamora-Quezada not only falsified patient records to bilk Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Blue Cross Blue Shield out of nearly $30 million, but he also created a workplace built on fear. Staffers testified that he called himself “eminencia,” or “eminence,” and used his power to control foreign employees who depended on him to keep their U.S. visas.
Other doctors in the region testified against him, saying it was obvious most of his patients never had the disease. Yet for years, he kept the charade alive, even using employees as ultrasound stand-ins to create fake records in case of audits.
When investigators finally caught up with him, they discovered a shocking scene: thousands of files stuffed into a rodent-infested shed, soaked in urine and feces.
His ill-gotten gains were lavish. Zamora-Quezada owned 13 properties in the U.S. and Mexico, a Maserati GranTurismo, and a sleek six-passenger jet—all of which he’s now been ordered to forfeit.
“Dr. Zamora-Quezada funded his luxurious lifestyle for two decades by traumatizing his patients, abusing his employees, lying to insurers, and stealing taxpayer money,” said DOJ official Matthew R. Galeotti. “This sentence sends a clear message: if you betray your patients to get rich, you will pay the price.”
He was convicted on multiple counts, including health care fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Along with his decade-long prison sentence, he must surrender more than $28 million.
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I hope he gets locked up for a very long time
Trust is an extremely important aspect of being a physician. I wonder if this doctor ever heard of the Hippocratic oath. I’m happy that this doctor got the punishment he so richly deserves, and I pray that this former patients recover physically and emotionally from this doctor’s malpractice.
Lock him up got good and let his malpractice insurance compensate his patients, I mean victims with as much money as possible! It doesn’t alleviate the pain he cause but many ameliorate some of the anguish
10 yrs? it literally shbe life. scum of the earth. wouldn’t hurt my feeling if it we’re death for what he did to those people, along with prob. raisimg all their ins. premiums & everyone else’s who had ins. with those co’s. shame. shame.
He didn’t get enough time. They should strip him of all his money and everything else and give it to these people. My handicap daughter was used by a Dr, an endocrinologist , gave her medicines and got paid by the government for it. Sherndef up with cancer in her womb. Had a hysterectomy at the age of 20. I was too busy with her trying to help her to do anything about him. He’d retired now living the life. Her health is still bad. She now has diabetes