Texas Attorney Sentenced in $26.5M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme

An attorney in Grand Prairie, Texas, has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $26,572,458.93 in restitution for his role in a workers’ compensation fraud scheme.

Federal prosecutors say that from July 2011 to September 2015, Tshombe Anderson and others defrauded the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Worker’s Compensation Program (OWCP) using stolen patient information from more than 200 federal employees.

Anderson pleaded guilty in August 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. He agreed to forfeit $375,000 seized from his home, a 2015 Mercedes, and his share of the $8,383,075 that was seized from 25 bank accounts.

Anderson’s sister Lydia Bankhead, 63, his wife Brenda Anderson, 47, and his niece Lydia Taylor, 30, also were charged in the scheme and previously pleaded guilty.

Plea documents in the case show Tshombe Anderson worked as an attorney for Union Treatment Centers (UTC). Together, the Andersons opened a durable medical equipment company called Best First Administration (BFA). BFA was initially formed to provide durable medical equipment to patients referred to BFA from UTC.

In July 2011, Tshombe and Brenda Anderson left UTC. In April 2013, Tshombe Anderson agreed with Bankhead to open Union Medical Supplies and Equipment (UMSE). In August 2013, Tshombe Anderson opened Skycare Medical Supplies and Equipment (SMSE).

Prosecutors say the companies were created in order to submit false claims to OWCP. The information that BFA received from UTC was used and billed to the same universe of claimants for duplicate, unwanted durable medical equipment that was not medically necessary.

Tshombe Anderson routinely transferred large sums of cash from UMSE accounts for his personal use or to launder money through various accounts, federal prosecutors say.