Dallas Woman Pleads Guilty in $7 Million COVID-19 Testing Fraud (Press Release, May 2, 2023)

Summary

A press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, dated Tuesday, May 2, 2023, announcing that Connie Jo Clampitt, 52, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez. According to plea papers, Clampitt admitted that co-conspirators used patient information obtained through clinics to bill insurers for COVID-19 testing that was never performed, through TC Diagnostics, ME Diagnostics and PHR Diagnostics, which the release calls shell entities. The three entities submitted approximately $30 million in claims and were paid more than $7 million. Under the plea agreement Clampitt agreed to a $7.29 million forfeiture money judgment; Terrance Barnard, William Paul Gray and Donn Hogg are also charged.

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PRESS RELEASE



Dallas Woman Pleads Guilty in $7
Million COVID-19 Testing Fraud
Tuesday, May 2, 2023


For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas

A Dallas woman pleaded guilty today to scamming insurers out of more than $7 million
for COVID-19 testing that was never actually performed, announced U.S. Attorney for
the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Connie Jo Clampitt, 52, was indicted in December. She pleaded guilty Tuesday to
conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo
Ramirez.

“As the country struggled to cope with a devastating pandemic, this defendant
conspired to swindle insurance providers out of millions of dollars. She exploited the
healthcare system when it was at its most vulnerable, indirectly raising healthcare costs
for everyday Americans. We are proud to hold her accountable for her role in this
conspiracy, and look forward to proving our case against her co-conspirators in court,”
said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.

According to plea papers, Ms. Clampitt admitted that she and her co-conspirators
accessed private patient information – including names, dates of birth, and insurance
subscriber numbers – through various clinics where one defendant worked as a contract
lab technician.

They then used the patient information to submit claims to insurance providers –
including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, United Healthcare, Aetna, Humana, and Molina
Health Care – for COVID-19 testing that was never performed. (The patients had not
requested COVID-19 testing, nor were they aware their information was being used to
submit claims.)

Ms. Clampitt admitted that the “labs” at which the co-conspirators claimed the testing
occurred, including TC Diagnostics, ME Diagnostics, and PHR Diagnostics, were, in fact,
shell entities that never operated as labs. Collectively, these three entities submitted
approximately $30 million in claims and were paid more than $7 million in
reimbursements for fake testing.

Ms. Clampitt now faces up to five years in federal prison. According to the terms of her
plea agreement, she has agreed to a $7.29 million forfeiture money judgment and will
forfeit a number of items seized during the investigation, including $2.5 million in funds
from numerous bank accounts, two residences, six vehicles, and six luxury watches.

Also charged in the scheme are Terrance Barnard, 39, William Paul Gray, 49, and Donn
Hogg, 37. Mr. Barnard, Mr. Gray, and Mr. Hogg are presumed innocent until proven
guilty in a court of law.

The Dallas Regional Office of the United States Department of Labor – Employee
Benefits Security Administration, the Dallas Office of the Department of Labor – Office
of Inspector General, the Texas Department of Insurance Fraud Unit's Fort Worth Field
Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office conducted the
investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Hunter is prosecuting the case; Assistant
U.S. Attorney Dimitri Rocha is handling the forfeiture.

For more information about the Justice Department’s response to wrongdoing
connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Contact
Erin Dooley
Press Officer
214-659-8707
erin.dooley@usdoj.gov

Updated May 2, 2023

Topics
CORONAVIRUS

HEALTH CARE FRAUD
Component
USAO - Texas, Northern


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