Two Austin psychologists and a Cedar Park patient recruiter are facing criminal charges after federal investigators accused them of a Medicaid kickback scheme involving children who had been removed from their homes by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Dr. William Joseph Dubin, 72, and his son Dr. David Fox Dubin, 32, who operate Psychologist ARTS in Northwest Austin, are each facing 21 charges that include conspiracy and health care fraud. Glen McKenzie Jr., a 67-year-old patient recruiter of Cedar Park, is facing one count of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback law and five counts of receiving illegal kickbacks.
The men were three of more than 400 medical professionals across the country who were indicted as part of a nationwide Department of Justice health care fraud investigation.
The indictment alleges that McKenzie received kickbacks from the Dubins to refer the children in the state’s care to Psychological ARTS. The Dubins paid McKenzie 10 percent of every government check they received, the indictment says.
The Dubins billed Texas Medicaid and the Texas Vocational Rehabilitation Services program for these children’s comprehensive mental health assessments with information that Dr. William Dubin had done the assessment. However, unlicensed and unsupervised interns and students actually did the work, the indictment says.
Medicaid allows associates to do mental health assessments, but the associates must be licensed and supervised, and the work is billed at 30 percent less than if a professional psychologist did the work, federal investigators said.
From January 2011 to June 2015, the Dubins billed about $300,000 to the state, the indictment says.
In total, the Dubins are each charged with:
- One count of conspiracy to violate the federal anti-kickback law.
- Five counts of paying illegal kickbacks.
- One count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
- Seven counts of health care fraud and aiding and abetting health care fraud.
- Six counts of aggravated identity theft.
- Aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.
The indictment says McKenzie was the president of the board for an emergency shelter house about 80 miles from Austin for children who the state had removed from their homes, but does not name the shelter. McKenzie’s LinkedIn page says he was president of the board for The Williams House Emergency Shelter For Children from May 2009 to November 2016.
McKenzie surrendered to federal authorities this morning, said Daryl Fields, Texas spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Dubins were released from jail on personal recognizance bonds following their initial appearances in federal court on Wednesday.
None of the three men could be reached for comment Thursday.