A Houston-area doctor has been indicted over an alleged scheme to bill the federal government for medical visits that prosecutors say never took place.
Dr. Joseph A. Montes, 66, faces a conspiracy charge, five wire fraud counts and six money laundering counts. Prosecutors allege that from 2020 to 2022, Montes let an unnamed alleged employee run COVID-19 testing sites under his name. The sites allegedly billed a federal health agency for office visits by people who came only for tests and received no medical treatment.
Montes and his clinics submitted about $30 million in claims, with roughly $20 million paid, prosecutors say. The indictment alleges more than 9,000 reimbursement claims were filed on one day—an average of one patient every nine seconds across 24 hours.
The FBI said Montes was arrested and appeared in federal court Monday morning. Court records did not list a defense attorney for him as of Tuesday.
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