Dr. David M. Young, 61, of Fredericksburg, Texas, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $26,622,522 in restitution for his role in a scheme that defrauded government health care programs by prescribing durable medical equipment and genetic tests without seeing or treating patients.  Young had been convicted in May 2024.

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit secured the conviction after an investigation revealed Young had signed thousands of fraudulent prescriptions and medical records for unnecessary orthotic braces and cancer genetic testing. The scheme targeted more than 13,000 Medicare beneficiaries, many of whom Young never spoke to or examined, including undercover agents posing as patients. The fraudulent claims led to more than $70 million in billing to government health programs.

“Medicaid fraud steals hundreds of millions from the taxpayers, and I will relentlessly pursue those who exploit these programs,” Attorney General Paxton stated. “This doctor will pay more than $26 million in restitution and spend 10 years in jail for his actions. In the past four years, my office has recovered nearly $1 billion for Texas taxpayers and I will continue to do everything in my power to hold wrongdoers accountable.”

The case was investigated by Sergeant Michelle Killinger, Investigative Auditor Jennifer Blakely, and Captain Justin Boyce of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General. It was prosecuted by the DOJ Health Care Strike Force in Dallas.

Since 2020, the MFCU has recovered more than $990 million in settlements, judgments, and restitution for Texas taxpayers. The unit receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under a grant award totaling $22.7 million for fiscal year 2024, with the remaining 25 percent funded by the State of Texas at $7.5 million.