El Paso Healthcare Executives Surrender To FBI

In a plot twist no one saw coming (except everyone who’s ever worked in or heard of corporate healthcare), two El Paso healthcare executives have been charged in a massive fraud scheme that sounds like it was cooked up in a boardroom PowerPoint titled “How to Bill for Services You Didn’t Provide and Retire in Puerto Rico.”

According to federal court documents, Jose Huerta, 58, the CEO of two Long-Term Acute Care hospitals in El Paso, and Israel Navarro, 47, the actual owner of one hospital and financial puppet master of the other, were allegedly running a racket that funneled $16 million in fake insurance claims through Blue Cross Blue Shield. The key ingredient in their scam? Urine. Or rather, the idea of urine.

The Business of Bogus Pee

Huerta and Navarro are accused of conspiring to bill for urine drug tests (UDTs) but with a twist. The patients they claimed to have tested weren’t even in their hospitals. In fact, many of them weren’t patients at all. According to the indictment, the duo submitted fraudulent claims stating these UDTs were sent to a lab in Dallas. That part was also fictional. Basically, if this had been a Netflix series, it would be called Breaking Bladder.

The alleged scam ran for six months, generating $16 million in claims. Blue Cross Blue Shield took a hit of more than $12 million in actual losses, and we can only imagine how many legitimate claims got delayed or denied because these guys were playing Monopoly with insurance funds.

FBI Taps In

Navarro, who splits his time between Puerto Rico and Dallas like any normal guy who's definitely not hiding money, surrendered on July 22 and was released on a $150,000 bond. Huerta followed a day later and got out on a mere $50,000 bond, which must sting a little when you realize the FBI thinks you're worth one-third less than your co-conspirator.

Both men are facing a trio of federal charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, though anyone familiar with white-collar sentencing guidelines knows they’re more likely to end up with house arrest and a yacht named "Second Chance."

So next time your insurance premium goes up, just remember someone might be cashing in on the fake pee of imaginary patients in El Paso.