In Plano, Texas, four people have been indicted in the Eastern District of Texas on suspicion of federal violations involving a university athletic billing scheme, U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs' office said Thursday.
Mouzon Bass, III, also known as Muzzy Bass, 58, of Highland Park; Lance West Wilson, 54, of Allen; and Robert Brent Scott, 59, of La Quinta, CA; were indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2024 and charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud, conspiring to commit healthcare fraud, and conspiring to commit money laundering.
In a separate indictment returned in October 2023, Kyle Kelly Carter, 61, of Keller, was charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud. The defendants have all made initial appearances in federal court in January, according to Diggs' office.
The indictments allege that from approximately 2014 through 2023, the defendants were involved in a university-centered athletic department billing scheme. Bass and Wilson used their company, Vivature, to submit false claims to private insurance carriers purporting that physicians, like Scott and Carter, were providing medical services for injured student-athletes at universities across the country.
It is alleged that the physicians didn't see or treat these student-athletes, and in many instances, were physically hundreds of miles away from where the student-athletes were receiving treatment.
The services were actually performed by athletic trainers employed by the universities’ athletic departments — who, most times, were specifically excluded from insurance companies’ reimbursement policies. At the direction of Bass and Wilson, Vivature submitted thousands of false claims to the insurance companies, named Scott, Carter, and other physicians as the servicing providers, and used their NPI numbers on the claims’ paperwork.
In exchange for allowing the alleged fraudulent use of their NPI and credentials, Vivature made regular payments to Scott, Carter and other physicians.
A separate conspiracy involved only Bass, Wilson, and Scott, who reportedly created a scheme to fraudulently obtain Health Resources and Services Administration government funds earmarked for COVID-19 testing provided to uninsured Americans. The defendants partnered with international resorts hosting American travelers abroad, offering to manage the billing and claims process for COVID-19 testing provided to these American travelers. Then, the defendants submitted thousands of reimbursement claims to HRSA for such travelers, even though such travelers were privately insured and ineligible under the HRSA program.
In total, the defendants are alleged to have collectively obtained more than $70 million from the two schemes. With these funds, they paid themselves millions of dollars; purchased property including a multimillion dollar home, lakehouse, and an international residence; and bought a multimillion dollar yacht.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys in Plano.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
