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South Texas Doctors Agree to Pay Nearly $5M to Settle False Claims Act Liability

Six South Texas doctors and their respective practices have agreed to pay $4,855,844 to resolve allegations they submitted false claims to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE that were not rendered or not medically necessary. Drs. Javier Cabello, 47, San Benito, Ammar Halloum, 52, Brownsville, Jamil Madi, 54, Olmito, Jairo Rodriguez, 62, Rancho Viejo, Ricardo Schwarcz, 57, Weslaco, and Stanley Sy, 55, Pharr, owned and operated Benchmark Inpatient Services PLLC dba Beyond Inpatient Services (BIS) in Harlingen. Rodriguez also owned and operated Brownsville Pulmonary Center, P.A. dba Benchmark Pulmonary Center (BPC), Brownsville. From Jan. 1, 2020, to May 31, 2023, BIS, BPC, and its owners allegedly submitted claims for critical care, while BPC and Rodriguez also allegedly submitted claims for pulmonary function testing. Patients’ medical records allegedly did not support this care and testing, or the care was not rendered at all.