HOUSTON (Covering Katy News) – A 39-year-old Cypress man has agreed to pay to resolve allegations he submitted false claims for the placement of electro-acupuncture devices, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Dr. Amr El-Khashab is a podiatrist who practices in Cypress and previously worked for Dr. Judith Rubin. From March 1, 2018, to Nov. 30, 2019, El-Khashab and Rubin billed Medicare for the surgical implantation of neurostimulator electrodes. Typically, Medicare pays doctors thousands of dollars per procedure and they take place in a operating room.
However, Federal investigators say neither Rubin nor El-Khashab performed these surgical procedures. Instead, patients received devices used for electro-acupuncture, which only involves inserting needles into patients’ ears and taping the neurostimulator behind them with an adhesive.
El-Khashab paid $90,000 to the government to settle the claims against him. Rubin previously entered into an $865,000 settlement to address these allegations.
To date, this is the ninth case the Southern District of Texas has resolved for similar conduct. The other matters included settlements with a Katy anesthesiologist, Houston pain doctor, Rockport chiropractor, Houston chiropractor, Laredo pain doctor, The Woodlands pain doctor and Cypress marketing representative.