HOUSTON - An owner and operator of a behavioral counseling company pleaded guilty on Tuesday to health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
Edward Birts, 51, represented himself as a doctor in psychology when in fact he had purchased his doctorate online and awarded himself several, false professional certifications.
Birts illegally acquired information from Medicaid beneficiaries and used it to file false claims, according to the attorney general's office statement.
He then used his company, Courage to Change, to bill Medicaid for group counseling sessions psychiatric counseling that beneficiaries never received.
Birts also regularly billed Medicaid and Medicare for services rendered by Dr. R. B.
The problem? He doesn't exist and neither do the services.
Birts accumulated over $960,000 in payments for the false claims leaving Medicaid with a total bill of over a $1.2 million, according to the statement.
This began in January 2003 and ended three years later in September.
Birts now faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the health care conspiracy conviction plus the same sentencing for the fraud conviction.
He must also serve a mandatory two-year term in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge.
Birts has been in custody since his arrest in March