A physician from Texas has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a fraudulent scheme amounting to $5.5 million, centered around over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests.
Mark Mazzare M.D., 57, based in Tyler, confessed to purchasing Medicare beneficiary identifiers (BINs). These identifiers were then misused to bill Medicare for millions of dollars worth of OTC COVID-19 test kits. Crucially, many of these test kits were sent to beneficiaries who never requested them. Mazzare attempted to mask the illegal BIN purchases through a deceptive agreement with a supposed marketing entity. This agreement falsely labeled the BIN transactions as purchases of “lead packages.” In reality, these packages contained BINs along with fabricated audio recordings. These recordings were designed to mimic requests from beneficiaries for the OTC COVID-19 tests, adding a layer of deception to the scheme.
Despite knowing that the Medicare beneficiaries had not asked for or clinically required the OTC COVID-19 tests, Mazzare proceeded to arrange for their shipment. This operation spanned from approximately November 2022 to June 2023. During this period, Mazzare orchestrated the submission of over $5.5 million in claims to Medicare for these OTC COVID-19 tests. These tests were medically unnecessary and did not meet the criteria for Medicare reimbursement. Medicare processed and paid approximately $3.44 million of these fraudulent claims.
Mazzare entered a guilty plea for conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as for the unlawful purchase, sale, and distribution of Medicare beneficiary identification numbers. He now faces a potential prison sentence of up to five years. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for a future date, where a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence, taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal considerations.
The announcement of this guilty plea was a joint effort. It was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, who heads the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas; Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office; and Inspector-in-Charge Kai Pickens of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Fort Worth Division.
The HHS-OIG and USPIS are actively conducting the investigation into this case, with significant support from the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant Chief Brynn Schiess of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Austin Wells for the Eastern District of Texas.
The Fraud Section is at the forefront of the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since its inception in March 2007, this program, which currently includes nine strike forces across 27 federal districts, has charged over 5,400 defendants. These defendants have collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers in excess of $27 billion. Furthermore, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, in collaboration with HHS-OIG, are actively working to ensure accountability for providers involved in health care fraud schemes. Additional details can be accessed at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
