Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX) August 16, 2019
Aug. 15--A father and his son were sentenced on Wednesday to a
combined 15 years in federal prison for submitting more than $27 million in
fraudulent hearing aid claims through their businesses in Bedford and
Arlington.
Terry Lynn Anderson, 69, of Dallas, was sentenced to eight years
in prison and ordered to pay $13.7 million in restitution to Blue Cross and
Blue Shield of Texas.
He also was ordered to forfeit his 300-acre ranch in Valley
Mills, three vehicles and more than $3.1 million seized from nine financial
accounts.
His son, Rocky Freeland Anderson, 38, of Dallas, was sentenced
to seven years in prison and ordered to pay more than $8.4 million to the
insurance company.
"In flagrant disregard for the law, these defendants
submitted claims for equipment they knew patients neither needed nor
wanted," said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District Erin Nealy Cox in a
Thursday news release. "This sort of fraud impacts healthcare costs for
patients who actually need coverage and we will continue to prioritize these
cases."
The father and son were found guilty in March 2018 on multiple
counts of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The defendants defrauded the insurance company by submitting
claims on behalf of American Airlines employees for hearing aids that were not
needed, and in many cases, never dispensed to the patients, according to
testimony in the trial.
The claims were submitted through Anderson Optical &
Hearing, the Andersons' family-owned business with locations in Bedford and
Arlington.
Federal agents noted that fraudulent marketing practices helped
the Andersons increase the number of claims submitted. Some patients were
promised a free pair of expensive sunglasses or prescription glasses if they
would take a free hearing test. After testing, patients were told they had
slight to mild hearing loss and required them to sign an order for hearing aids
before receiving the free glasses.
The Andersons also promised patients the hearing aids at no cost
and said Anderson Optical & Hearing would waive any co-payments,
coinsurance or deductibles. The father and son also offered $100 gift cards to
patients for referrals to family members and co-workers.
In 2012, the Andersons brought their scheme into American
Airlines airport facilities, offering free hearing tests to aircraft mechanics
and fleet service clerks at maintenance hangars and in employee break rooms.
With the offer of free sunglasses, the Andersons had long lines of employees
waiting to take what witnesses said were three- to five-minutes tests,
according to court documents.
An expert witness testified that such cursory screening tests
were incapable of producing results that would help with legitimate decisions
on dispensing hearing aids.
This report
contains information from Star-Telegram archives.
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Worth Star-Telegram
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