FORT WORTH, Texas — A federal jury has convicted a North Texas mental health clinic owner in a scheme that prosecutors said used kickbacks, falsified medical records and doctors’ credentials to bill the military’s health program for more than $26 million.
Kevin D. Curry, 64, of Frisco, was convicted Thursday on nine federal counts following a trial in Fort Worth, according to a Sept. 25 announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice. The verdict included three counts each of health care fraud, illegal kickbacks and monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.
Curry owned Acuity TMS clinics in Plano and Fort Worth, along with Emerald Coast TMS in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The clinics offered transcranial magnetic stimulation, a noninvasive treatment that uses magnetic pulses and can be prescribed for certain mental health conditions.
Federal prosecutors said Curry paid more than $5.5 million in kickbacks to marketers who recruited active-duty servicemembers, veterans and their relatives. According to the government, some patients did not qualify for the treatment, while others were billed for services they never received.
The Justice Department said Curry falsely presented himself as a physician even though he was not licensed as one. Prosecutors also accused him of using the credentials of real doctors without their consent and directing employees to create false treatment records to support claims submitted to TRICARE, the federal health program serving military personnel, retirees and their families.
Acuity billed TRICARE more than $26 million during the scheme, and the program paid approximately $17 million, federal officials said.
Prosecutors alleged that Curry used proceeds from the fraud for luxury spending, including hotel stays, a casino-themed party and a gold-plated Tesla Cybertruck valued at more than $100,000. The spending allegations became part of the government’s money-laundering case, but the core harm described by prosecutors was the diversion of health-care dollars intended for military families.
The case carries particular significance in Texas, which is home to one of the nation’s largest military and veteran populations. Fraud involving medically necessary care can drive up program costs, undermine trust in providers and complicate access for patients who depend on federal health benefits.
Curry has not yet been sentenced. Each count carries a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison, although the judge will determine the final sentence after considering federal sentencing guidelines and other factors.
The investigation was conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, FBI, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. The Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.
The conviction follows a federal jury verdict and is not the final stage of the case; sentencing will occur at a later date.
