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.
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
"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.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-doctor-sentenced-10-years-prison-one-most-significant-cases-patient-harm