Henry Allen Gonzales ran a pain clinic in Willis, Texas. Federal agents say he used it to steal millions of dollars.

Gonzales is 53 years old. He owned Option 1 Pain & Rehab Clinic, once called Direct Medical Clinic. He also owned a pharmacy called Farmacia.

A federal judge sent Gonzales to prison for 30 months, plus one year of supervised release. A probation officer will watch him during that year. Chief U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge, who works in South Texas, gave the sentence.

Gonzales pleaded guilty on June 30, 2022. He admitted to a plan to pay and take kickbacks. A kickback is a secret payment. It pays someone for sending business your way.

The scheme ran from 2015 to 2018.

Here is how it worked. Gonzales paid marketers. They sent hurt workers to his clinic. These patients were federal workers hurt on the job. A federal program paid their medical bills. It is called the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. It is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. It pays medical care for federal workers hurt at work.

Gonzales bribed doctors too. He paid them to sign prescriptions. The medicine was not needed. Many drugs were compounded medications. Those are custom mixed drugs. A special pharmacy makes them. You cannot buy them off a store shelf.

A pharmacy paid Gonzales for these referrals. It is called Rayford ACP Pharmacy. It paid him more than $2 million in kickbacks. In return, Gonzales sent patients there. They got pricey compounded drugs.

The scheme cost the government a lot. Agents say Gonzales caused $49,014,183.03 in fake claims. That is close to 49 million dollars. All of it was fake bills. They went to a federal fund.

The judge made Gonzales pay it all back. He owes the full $49 million. This is called restitution. It means paying back stolen money.

U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz did not hold back. "Gonzales treated injured workers as a personal ATM, bleeding a federal program of nearly $50 million," Reitz said.

Many agencies worked this case. They are the VA watchdog office, the Labor Department watchdog office, the Postal Service watchdog office, the FBI in Houston, and Defense Department crime agents.

Gonzales is headed to federal prison to serve his 30 month sentence.