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Texas doctor sentenced to 10 years in prison in one of the ‘most significant’ cases of patient harm

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Texas doctor sentenced to 10 years in prison in one of the ‘most significant’ cases of patient harm

A Texas-based doctor was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for healthcare fraud after he carried out what prosecutors said was a nearly two-decade scheme that involved falsely diagnosing thousands of patients with degenerative diseases and profiting handsomely off their treatments.

Jorge Zamora-Quezada, a rheumatologist licensed to practice medicine in Texas, Arizona and Massachusetts before being stripped of his licenses in each state, raked in hundreds of millions of dollars for the misdiagnoses and treatment he ordered during his roughly 20 years as a medical practitioner. The treatments included punishing rounds of chemotherapy, intravenous infusions, and a battery of other tests, monthly visits, and regular procedures associated with the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic, autoimmune condition for which there is no cure.

The sentencing, and his earlier court appearances, played out at times like a study in contrasts. Prosecutors detailed his extravagant lifestyle, including a private jet, 13 properties across the U.S., including in Aspen and various towns in Mexico, and a Maserati – while the health of the patients he defrauded continued to worsen.  

Prosecutors accused him of taking advantage of vulnerable individuals in Texas, such as teenagers, elderly individuals, and disabled persons, in order to carry out the scheme. Some of them testified at Wednesday’s hearing about the ongoing side effects they suffered as a result of the doctor’s actions, including receiving chemotherapy or IV infusions they did not need. 

AMTRAK BILKED OUT OF $12M BY AT LEAST 119 EMPLOYEES, DOCTORS IN FRAUD SCHEME; MANY STILL ON THE JOB: REPORT

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View of the Justice Department building in Washington, D.C: Valerie Plesch/dpa (Photo by Valerie Plesch/picture alliance)  (Getty Images)

It’s “one of the most egregious” cases of its kind the Justice Department has brought in this space, Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department Criminal Division, told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview on Wednesday.

That’s because of “all of the various kinds of misconduct rolled into one,” he said, “and because it was pervasive – the scheme lasted more than 18 years.”

“By the time you’re towards the end of the scheme, he knows the consequences some of these things have had on the victims, and he’s going forward anyways,” he said of the doctor.

The Justice Department’s Criminal Division has been prosecuting this case for years. Unlike other departments, it is one of the few where career and political staff alike are largely in lockstep, with goals and cases that transcend partisan politics and seek instead to hold criminals like the Texas doctor accountable. 

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Galeotti said he sees the case as emblematic of the Trump administration’s goals to vindicate victims and counter wasteful government spending.

“Even in cases where you don’t see this level of misconduct, where you’re not prescribing someone chemotherapy medicine that doesn’t need it, which obviously sort of stands out on its own, we still have a problem because you were wasting government funds that should be going to actually benefiting patients,” Galeotti said.

A BERLIN DOCTOR HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH THE KILLINGS OF 15 PATIENTS UNDER PALLIATIVE CARE

US President Donald Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi (L) arrive to speak at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP) (Getty Images)

A separate Justice Department official told Fox News Digital Zamora-Quezada’s case was one of the “most significant” instances of patient harm that he had seen in at least a decade.

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“There was testimony about truly debilitating side effects from the medications, things like strokes, necrosis of the jawbone, really the jawbone melting away, hair loss, liver damage,” the official said. 

The doctor’s actions were seen as particularly egregious, in the Justice Department’s telling, because they sought to prey on lower-income communities in Texas, targeting teenagers, elderly persons, and disabled individuals. The doctor also operated in areas with less access to medical care and with fewer native English speakers compared to other parts of the state.

“Of course, it’s always the most twisted when you’re benefiting from someone else’s misfortune – misfortune you caused – and misfortune you used for your own personal enrichment,” Galeotti said.

“They’re the hallmarks of the worst kind of conduct that you see,” Galeotti said.

DOJ PROSECUTOR SUING TRANS MEDICINE WHISTLEBLOWER TAKEN OFF CASE OVER APPARENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST

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“This investigation highlights an even greater concern presented by health care fraud than the significant financial losses – the physical and emotional harm suffered by the patients and their families,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Combs in 2018.  (Getty Images)

Zamora-Quezada was convicted by a jury in 2020 of seven counts of healthcare fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, and one count of obstruction of justice. His attorneys argued that the fraud was not “pervasive” in the way the government made it out to be, according to public court filings.

Prosecutors said Zamora-Quezada purchased condominium properties in vacation towns, including in Aspen, San Diego, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They said he commuted to his various doctors’ offices in Texas in a Maserati and a private jet, both emblazoned with his initials, “ZQ.” His assets were forfeited after he was charged, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, they said, while Zamora-Quezada was living a life of luxury, out of nearly 100,000 Medicare patients he treated, Zamora-Quezada diagnosed 72.9% of them with rheumatoid arthritis. Prosecutors compared that data to seven other Texas rheumatologists, who cumulatively diagnosed 13% of their patients with the same condition.

 

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Prosecutors asked for $100 million in restitution, but the judge required him to pay $28 million.

Attorneys for Zamora-Quezada did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Los Angeles, Ca

LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture

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LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture

Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.

Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.

Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.

  • Aerial view of flooded streets in West Hollywood.
  • A sinkhole opened up on a sidewalk in West Hollywood following a water main break
  • Aerial view of flooded Metro buses.
  • Aerial view of flooded streets in West Hollywood.
  • Water floods out of an apartment in West Hollywood
  • A broken water main floods a parking garage in West Hollywood
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Residents stand with luggage and a dog at the entrance to an apartment parking garage as floodwaters from a water main break rush through a West Hollywood street.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • Rushing floodwaters pushes parked cars together on a flooded West Hollywood street after a water main break.
  • A broken water main floods the streets of West Hollywood

“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”

The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.

A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.

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The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.

“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.

The two men appeared to be uninjured.

As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.

LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.

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The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues

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Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.

Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.

On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.

Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.

Meah Bordenave-Jenkins and Eric Washington are pictured in a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department bulletin. (LASD)

Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.

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“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.

The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.

Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.

Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.

Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.

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Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.

  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • Compton fatal shooting
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration
  • 2 dead, 3 injured at Compton July 4 celebration

Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.

The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.

“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.

“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”

The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.

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At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.

Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.

The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.

Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.

Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.

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Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.

The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.

They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars

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Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars

A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]

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