Pain Relief Network

June 13, 2008
By: Erica Molina Johnson and Tammy Fonce-Olivas
El Paso Times (TX)

A doctor acquitted in 1999 of making false workers' compensation claims is under investigation again by the FBI on allegations of health-care fraud.

Around 10 a.m. Tuesday, about a dozen agents from several agencies raided the International Institute of Pain Management office of Dr. Anthony Valdez.

Valdez was not charged.

Though he was at his office during the search, he could not be reached for comment.

FBI spokeswoman Andrea Simmons said the investigation was unrelated to other recent high-profile searches in the area.

Simmons said agents searched Valdez's office in the Plaza Del Rio shopping center at Cashew Drive and Zaragoza Road, looking for relevant documents.

"This is strictly a search. We believe there is probable cause for a crime, but he has not been charged. We will review the evidence that was gathered, and we will go from there," Simmons said.

During the raid, federal authorities loaded more than 20 cardboard boxes into a U-Haul truck. One of the boxes had the words, "Dr. Valdez charges 08-04-06 –

10-31-06," written on the side with a black marker.

Simmons said the FBI is the lead agency in the investigation, and other agencies involved include the U.S. Postal Service, the Health and Human Services Commission, the Office of the Inspector General and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Texas Attorney General's Office.

The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates cases of criminal fraud by Medicaid providers and cases of physical abuse and criminal neglect of patients in health-care centers licensed by the program. It also helps local and federal agencies with prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on the investigation.

Despite the raid, patients went about their normal business of receiving services at the office, which has been at its location fewer than three years. However, calls to the office Tuesday were routed directly to voice mail.

An office staff member said Valdez was not available for comment.

People who work in nearby businesses said the office usually has a steady stream of patients, primarily elderly people.

Francisco Del Valle, 77, said he was "very surprised" to see the agents at Valdez's office.

"This is the first time I come here. I was very surprised. I didn't know what was going on. To tell you the truth, I was a little scared," Del Valle said.

Del Valle said that despite the raid, he was allowed to continue with his first appointment with Valdez. He said he was evaluated medically and told to return for a follow-up appointment on Thursday.

Del Valle said he planned to return to the office despite the investigation because his priority is his hip problems and he thinks Valdez might be able to provide him with medical treatment.

Jesse Zamora, 42, was waiting to see Valdez when the federal agents entered the business. Zamora, who suffers from back pain, has been a patient of Valdez's for about four years.

Zamora said he visits Valdez's office at least twice a week. And while Zamora said he was concerned about the investigation his of doctor on alleged criminal charges, he doubted his doctor has done anything wrong or illegal.

"I don't think there is nothing wrong with the billing. I think it (the investigation) might be a result of jealousy from somebody else, maybe another doctor, or just a disgruntled patient," Zamora said.

"The doctor looked real calm. I even asked him — I go, what's going on? And he goes, 'I don't know but I'm not doing nothing wrong.' He didn't look nervous or nothing. He just went about his ways and he even welcomed the guys. He said, 'Come on in,' " Zamora said.

Valdez, who practices pain management and psychiatry, was acquitted in 1999 of several counts of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. He was accused of making false workers' compensation claims involving more than $70,000. He was indicted on the charges in 1997.

In 1998, the Texas Medical Board also assessed a $500 administrative penalty against Valdez for "failure to practice medicine in an acceptable manner consistent with public heath and welfare."

Findings in the case state that Valdez began treating a patient in 1995 and 1996 for pain from a work injury. After prescribing a controlled substance with codeine or hydrocodone to the patient, it was alleged, Valdez did not adequately inform his patient about the treatment and his records did not have adequate progress notes or goals of treatment.

According to the Texas attorney general's Web page, Medicaid fraud can include billing for procedures that were not performed; falsifying a diagnosis to justify extra tests; billing a patient for a brand-name drug though the patient was given a generic drug; billing a patient for prescription drugs despite giving the patient over-the-counter medicines; transporting patients by ambulance when it is not medically necessary; requiring vendors to hand over part of the money they get for services to patients; and billing for care of those who have died, are not eligible or have transferred elsewhere.

People convicted of Medicaid fraud, which can be a violation of different federal and state laws, can lose their status as Medicaid providers and can have their professional licenses revoked.