Former clinic head sentenced to 10 years for Medicaid fraud

McALLEN - The head of a now defunct chain of children's clinics was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for Medicaid fraud.

Eliseo Sandoval, 39, of McAllen, bilked the government healthcare program of more than $4 million, which he later used to buy property, cars and firearms for personal use, Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a written statement.

Sandoval filed the fraudulent claims in his capacity as president of Just for Kids Children's Rehabilitation Centers in Cameron and Hidalgo counties.

"By lying about his qualifications and the services he rendered Medicaid patients, (Sandoval) funded a luxurious lifestyle at the taxpayers' expense," Abbott said in his statement.

Sandoval's scheme was uncovered by a 2004 Texas Health and Human Services Commission audit, which showed he bought a Brooks County ranch, a McAllen office building and several sports cars with the government money.

He then tried to hide the transactions by funneling the Medicaid payments into bills his clinics paid to other businesses that he owned, prosecutors said.

A week after the audit was released Sandoval resigned as Just for Kids chief executive officer and the clinics filed for bankruptcy, despite receiving more than $10 million a year from Medicaid.

All eight of the company's Valley centers closed and about 150 people lost their jobs. Several of the former centers - including a brightly colored location on Cynthia Street in South McAllen - remain shuttered today.

Sandoval filed for personal bankruptcy soon after and sought protection for several of his side businesses that profited from the Medicaid fraud.

He admitted his guilt in April in a state district court in Austin as part of a plea agreement with the state. Prosecutors, in turn, recommended the 10-year sentence he received Monday. He could be eligible for parole as soon as 2013.

Sandoval's Austin-based attorney - Roy Q. Minton - did not return calls for comment Monday.

Medicaid is the largest source of health and medical services funding for low-income citizens. It is jointly funded by the federal government and individual states.

____

Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.