Former Texas Spine Surgeon Burns Down Fort Worth Mansion in Botched Evidence-Destroying Venture
Former spine surgeon Mark Kuper, MD, and his wife and back-office manager Melissa Kuper of Fort Worth, Texas found themselves in a precarious situation when state prosecutors alleged the couple had burned down their $1.6 million home in a botched attempt to hide evidence of fraudulent medical claims.
The indictment against the couple filed June 17 alleged Mrs. Kuper set fire to a large collection of medical records in the couple’s background in October of 2017. Unfortunately, that fire quickly spread out of control and burnt the Kuper’s mansion to the ground.
Dr. Kuper’s practice, Fort Worth-based Texas Center for Orthopedic & Spinal Disorders, was accused of defrauding Medicare and a number of other government healthcare programs for more than 100,000 fraudulent physical therapy, psychotherapy and pain management services from 2014 to 2017 – adding up to approximately $5 million.
Though Dr. Kuper began his career as a surgeon, it didn’t take him long to convert his practice to an unregistered pain management clinic in 2014 following a medical malpractice lawsuit he settled. The indictment stated that Dr. Kuper viewed pain management as “bottom feeding” and used opioids to get regular patients to return for treatments so he could bill Medicaid for these “worthless services.”
Dr. Kuper and his wife appeared in federal court in Forth Worth on June 22 to stand trial for the whistleblower lawsuit. Both pleaded not guilty.
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