A mediated settlement agreement filed on July 25 in Milam County has put to rest some of the troubles surrounding Central Texas Hospital in Cameron. But the legal tussles are far from over as attorneys for Dr. Tariq Mahmood prepare to fight for assets that his company, Cameron Hospitals Inc., claims to own.
Mark Humble, board president for CTH Inc., the nonprofit corporation that owns the hospital, said on Friday that Mahmood's administrators left close to $50,000 of unpaid bills and taxes on the books. He said the value of any assets should be outweighed by the debt owed to the hospital. On Monday, however, Humble said the sheriff's department discovered some shredded documents that could bring the hospital further into the federal investigation surrounding Mahmood.
FBI public affairs specialist Katy Chaumont said the bureau "had been made aware of documents that may have been destroyed." Chaumont could not confirm if the documents were from the Cameron hospital.
The week prior to the discovery, Judge John Youngblood appointed Milam County Sheriff David Greene as master in chancery over the hospital. The order handed the responsibility over to Greene after Mahmood tried to shutter the hospital's operations. Because Mahmood, or one of his agents, was attempting to close the facility, the company was breaking its lease agreement with CTH, according to Humble.
"When we filed this request for master in chancery and the temporary restraining order, that's an extremely dangerous legal maneuver," Humble said. "You're asking someone's business to be taken away from him without notice, and Texas law does not favor such things."
On July 19, the day the order was handed down, Humble said, he went against the sheriff's advice to evacuate the CTH campus -- a professional building, a former dorm for nuns and the main hospital building. Humble said administrators with Cameron Hospital Inc., Mahmood's company, told him they needed access to paperwork that was due in court the following Monday. Despite the warning from the sheriff, Humble allowed them to stay.
"One of Mahmood's employees was allowed to stay a couple days and handle what had to be handled with [Mahmood's] other operations," Humble said. He noted that CTH Inc. was only focused on gaining control of the Cameron hospital.
On Thursday, Chief Deputy Chris White told those in attendance at the settlement talks that he discovered a trash bag full of shredded documents and a box on the shredder that was full with debris. According to Humble, White had been in the hospital's copier room on July 19 to make copies of the court order. There were no signs of document shredding at the time. When White returned to the room last week, he found the bag. Humble said there were "multiple possibilities" for how someone could have gained access to the room.
"We don't know exactly how it happened. [White] said there was a window to the room that was unsecured. I think he said it was being held shut with tape or something to that effect. He moved a filing cabinet up against that window as a precaution," Humble said.
When the sheriff became master in chancery, he closed the rest of the hospital, directing all traffic through the emergency room as a precaution, Humble said. Over the course of several days, the department oversaw the changing of the locks on the hospital doors. Humble said the task probably took a couple of days to complete.
"What happened in that room is not the sheriff's fault," Humble added. "The sheriff and his deputy have gone way beyond what anybody should reasonably be asked to do. This is not what sheriffs do."
The shredded documents were taken to the sheriff's department for safe-keeping. The FBI asked hospital administrators to make a copy of the surveillance footage; however, when techs went to review the tape on Friday, they discovered the system had been offline for a week, Humble said. He did not know how the system was disabled. Because there is no footage, investigators are unable to name a suspect at this time.
Several calls to White's office were not returned.
The major highlight of the settlement is Mahmood's relinquishing of hospital operations to CTH Inc.
"It is agreed that Central Texas Hospitals Inc. shall not have any connection with Cameron Hospitals or Dr. Tariq Mahmood's federal or state provider numbers," the settlement states.
Sheriff Greene and Little River Healthcare, the company contracted to run the hospital in the interim, retain control of Central Texas Hospital under the settlement.
CTH Inc. retains all valid licenses obtained by Mahmood and Cameron Hospitals Inc.
A court date is set for Aug. 19 to continue the resolution. Attorneys for Mahmood must provide a list of all assets Cameron Hospitals is claiming it owns. If those assets are valued less than the outstanding debt, then they will be forfeited to CTH Inc.
Some of the debt includes an outstanding utility bill for $59,000 and unpaid taxes amounting to $13,000. The CTH president said the hospital's financial status is in good working order and said the debt issues stem from Mahmood's mismanagement.
"A couple months ago, Dr. Mahmood overreached when he took over the Terrell hospital. I'm guessing they were robbing Peter to pay Paul," Humble said.
Mahmood was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 11, and charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and seven counts of health care fraud. According to the indictment, from April 2010 to April 2013, Mahmood and others are alleged to have carried out a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid through the submission of false and fraudulent claims.
On July 20, aides said Gov. Rick Perry had ordered a "deep and comprehensive look" at health care facilities owned by the Dallas-area physician, whose rural hospitals have violated safety regulations without drawing state scrutiny.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Jordan Overturf jordan.overturf@theeagle.com | Posted: Thursday, August 1, 2013 12:00 am
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