Dallas twin doctors guilty of giving FAKE steroid injections to thousands of arthritis patients in $45million scam
Twin doctors from Dallas have pleaded guilty to defrauding insurance companies of $45 million by giving thousands of patients expensive painkilling injections that didn’t even penetrate the skin.
Brothers Deno Barroga and Desi Barroga, 51, claimed the injections they offered contained corticosteroid injections – anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat a host of conditions, including arthritis, sciatica and back pain.
Thousands of patients visited their clinic every month, with treatment financed by, among others, the seriously injured Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and United Healthcare.
But a legal investigation revealed that the twins, who specialize in rehabilitation, pressed needles against patients’ skin without injecting, and rubbed the area with a local anesthetic, presumably to simulate the uncomfortable feeling of an injection.
Brothers Deno Barroga and Desi Barroga, 51, admitted defrauding health insurers by submitting claims for injections of corticosteroids – anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat arthritis – that they never gave
In 2016, Dr. Deno Barrogas (pictured) was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and take a physician prescribing course after the board found he had improperly prescribed controlled substances and other medications to his patients.
The Barrogas told the insurance companies they were performing up to 80 corticosteroid injections per patient per visit.
The twins created fake medical records, which were typically cut and pasted or cloned from patient to patient with minimal changes.
They also told patients to include false statements about the injections and other treatments in their records.
The Barrogas admitted that they billed insurers at least $45 million and were paid at least $9 million between early 2016 and the end of 2022.
The men are now awaiting sentencing and each face a prison sentence of ten years.
As part of the plan, doctors would ask patients to visit their offices monthly to receive pain-relieving medications, including hydrocodone, oxycodone and morphine.
They both gave up their DEA registrations and were forced to forfeit their medical licenses at least 14 days before sentencing.
The doctors, whose offices were located at 7515 Greenville Ave in Dallas, Texas, have previously come under scrutiny.
In 2021, Desi was placed under a reinstatement — a settlement to resolve an investigation — after the Texas Medical Board found he failed to properly maintain medical records, patient history, and research data.
He was also found to have failed to provide an acceptable rationale for prescribing controlled substances, including fentanyl patches, to a patient.
Meanwhile, Deno was ordered in 2016 to pay a $3,000 fine and take a physician prescribing course after the board found he had improperly prescribed controlled substances and other medications to his patients.