Texas lawyer gets 10-year sentence for $26M workers' comp conspiracy
A Texas lawyer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in a scheme to defraud the government out of $26 million by submitting phony claims for medical equipment in claims submitted to the Labor Department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation.
Tshombe Anderson, 55, of Grand Prairie, was sentenced Thursday, Courthouse News Service, Dallas News and a press release report. Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn imposed the prison sentence and ordered Anderson to pay $26.5 million in restitution.
Anderson was accused of stealing patient information from injured federal civilian workers and using it to bill the workers’ compensation program for unneeded or never-delivered medical equipment purchased from his own companies. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud last August and agreed then to forfeit $375,000 seized from his residence, a 2015 Mercedes, and his share of $8.3 million seized from 25 bank accounts.
Prosecutors had alleged Anderson’s niece aided the scheme by obtaining an internship with the Labor Department so she could scour electronic workers’ compensation files for information he used in the scheme. The niece, 30-year-old Lydia Taylor, pleaded guilty to participating in a matter affecting an employee’s financial interest in connection with the scheme, according to Dallas News.
Two other members of Anderson’s family were also charged in the scheme, according to Dallas News. They are: Anderson’s sister, 63-year-old Lydia Bankhead, who pleading guilty to aiding and abetting; and his then-wife, 47-year-old Brenda Anderson, who pleaded guilty to making a false statement.
