Surgeon admits role in million-dollar kickback scheme involving Dallas hospital

A Mesquite physician has admitted his role in an alleged $200 million health care fraud involving a defunct Dallas hospital.

Dr. Wade Barker, a bariatric surgeon, co-founded Forest Park Medical Center and sat on its board of directors, court records say. He filed papers on Thursday, agreeing to plead guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive health care bribes and kickbacks in connection with the bankrupt hospital.

Barker is the seventh of 21 defendants to admit guilt in the alleged scheme, in which $40 million in bribes and kickbacks were paid to doctors, recruiters and others, according to prosecutors. He is the first of several charged surgeons to admit his guilt in the case.

Plea documents say he received marketing payments for performing his surgeries at Forest Park Medical Center. He also caused the payment of $100,000 to a codefendant, Dr. Nick Nicholson, in July 2012 so that Nicolson would refer his patients to Forest Park Medical Center, the documents say.

Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/08/17/surgeon-admits-role-million-dollar-kickback-scheme-involving-dallas-hospital