A Texas internal medicine doctor was convicted last week for accepting more than $200,000 in illegal kickbacks in exchange for directing patient samples to specific labs, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.
Dr. Hector Ubaldo, 60, faced a federal jury following his September indictment on charges of conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks, along with solicitation and receipt of illegal kickbacks. After two days of evidence presentation, the jury returned a guilty verdict in just 14 minutes.
Evidence revealed that Dr. Ubaldo accepted cash payments from “marketers” in exchange for sending patients’ blood and urine samples to certain labs, including R.K. Clinical, which then billed insurance companies and Medicare for diagnostic testing. He reportedly entered into sham “medical advisory agreements” with these labs and marketers, agreements that purportedly paid him monthly fees for advisory services he never provided. Instead, the agreements served as a front to facilitate kickback payments.
Court evidence included videos showing one marketer handing Dr. Ubaldo cash in his office. In one meeting, Dr. Ubaldo was recorded stating, “To tell you the truth, I need the cash,” and later added, “The minimum I’m willing to [expletive] take on a monthly basis is about $10 grand.”
Dr. Ubaldo reportedly collected over $253,000 through these payments, while the labs billed insurers approximately $3.4 million as a result of this scheme. Dr. Ubaldo now faces up to 15 years in federal prison, including five years for conspiracy and 10 years for solicitation and receipt of kickbacks. He was taken into custody after his conviction and is awaiting sentencing.
In connection to this case, the marketer involved pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and could face up to five years in prison. R.K. Clinical owner Kelly Nelson also pleaded guilty and was sentenced in May to 30 months in federal prison.
The case is part of a broader investigation that has led to the prosecution of more than fifteen doctors, marketers, and lab owners over recent years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service conducted the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl and Nancy Larson trying the case. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman presided over Dr. Ubaldo’s trial.
