Texas doctor is charged with wrongly giving patients chemotherapy to fund his 'lavish' and 'opulent' lifestyle that includes a private jet and Maserati branded with his initials

  • Dr Jorge Zamora-Quezada, 61,  has been charged in a $240 medical fraud case 
  • The Southern Texas rheumatologist was allegedly paid $50million over 10 years
  • He is accused of purposely misdiagnosing patients with debilitating conditions
  • The doctor would allegedly give patients 'toxic medications' they did not need
  • Zamora-Quezada owned a private jet, Maserati and multiple properties 
  • Authorities are asking patients of his between 2000 and 2010 to come forward 

Dr Jorge Zamora-Quezada, 61, has been charged in a $240 medical fraud case

Dr Jorge Zamora-Quezada, 61, has been charged in a $240 medical fraud case

A Texas doctor is being charged in a $240million medical fraud case for allegedly administering patients chemotherapy to collect the money that funded his lavish lifestyle. 

Rheumatologist Dr Jorge Zamora-Quezada, 61, of South Texas, has been accused of purposely misdiagnosing patients with debilitating diseases and giving them chemotherapy and other toxic medications they did not need.

Authorities are now asking any former patients of his from 2000 to 2010 to come forward as they may have fallen victim to his ill-mannered practices without knowing.

He is believed to have been a part of a money laundering scheme and was allegedly paid $50 million of the illegal earnings to fund his 'lavish and opulent lifestyle', according to the Department of Justice.

According to the indictment, the disgraced doctor would order a number of 'fraudulent, repetitive, and excessive medical procedures on patients in order to increase revenue.'

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The doctor would allegedly give patients 'toxic medications' they did not need and used the money to purchase a million-dollar jet (pictured) and Maserati 

The doctor would allegedly give patients 'toxic medications' they did not need and used the money to purchase a million-dollar jet (pictured) and Maserati 

Photos in the court documents show a pile of patient's medical records thrown in a barn in the Rio Grande Valley 

Photos in the court documents show a pile of patient's medical records thrown in a barn in the Rio Grande Valley 

Zamora-Quezada owned a million dollar private jet and Maserati, both of which were branded with his initials 'ZQ'.

He also owned multiple residential properties, including two penthouses and a condo in Mexico and another condo in Aspen, Colorado. He owned several homes and commercial buildings in Texas, court records show.

His properties, car and plane have all been seized.  

The indictment says he and his unnamed partners in the alleged fraud scheme created fake medical records and hid thousands of patients' actual documents in a rundown barn in the the Rio Grande Valley.

The 61-year-old has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to KRGV. 

Zamora-Quezada is currently in custody awaiting his court date set for July 2. The seven charges could land him in prison for decades if he is found guilty.

The indictment says Zamora-Quezada owned medical practices in Brownsville, Edinberg and San Antonio, primarily practicing rheumatology.

He focused on treating rheumatoid arthritis - a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects joints and can be treated with various medications and chemotherapy drugs that involve toxins.

The doctor is thought to have targeted children, disabled and elderly patients.

Zamora-Quezada's victims have come forward claiming their former doctor would diagnose them with degenerative diseases that other doctors would reveal they never had.

One of his alleged victims is Maria Zapata, 70, who went to see the doctor more than five years ago because of a pain in her knee. 

The doctor told her she had arthritis and gave her injections that would 'strengthen the cartilage' in her knee. 

According to CNN, her husband would ask the doctor why he was administering so many injections, but he reassured them the treatment would help.

However, there was discoloration on Zapata's leg and other doctors were concerned with the treatment. 

One doctor told Zapata she never had arthritis.

The Southern Texas rheumatologist was allegedly paid $50million over 10 years

The Southern Texas rheumatologist was allegedly paid $50million over 10 years

Authorities are asking patients of his between 2000 and 2010 to come forward

Authorities are asking patients of his between 2000 and 2010 to come forward

Another patient of Dr Zamora-Quezada, Nora Rodriguez, 44, told CNN that he yelled at her and threw her out of his office after she questioned his treatment.

'He kept getting upset when I was asking him why I was feeling worse and not getting better,' she said.

'He yelled and told me, ''you are no longer my patient; get out of this office,''' Rodriguez said. 

But this is not Zamora-Quezada's first time facing scrutiny for his practice. 

In 2006, he was accused of prescribing a drug 'inconsistent with public health and welfare' and of 'billing for treatment that was improper, unreasonable, or medically or clinically unnecessary.'  

He later settled for a public reprimand by the Texas Medical Board in 2009 and was fined $30,000 but able to continue his practice.

CJ Porter of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General's Dallas Region said: 'Today's indictment is the first step in holding Dr. Zamora-Quezada accountable for his allegedly egregious criminal conduct.

'His patients trusted him and presumed his integrity; in return he allegedly engaged in a scheme of false diagnoses and bogus courses of treatment and doled out prescriptions for unnecessary and harmful medications, all for his personal financial gain and with no regard for patient well-being. HHS-OIG will always pursue criminals masquerading as legitimate physicians, weed them out and seek the harshest possible punishment, particularly when patient harm is a factor.' 

The indictment does not say who his alleged co-conspirators are or their role in the medical fraud scheme.  

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