SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors filed a response Friday morning to a request from a local doctor's attorney to get evidence the federal government has against his client. Prosecutors said there are hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and boxes of evidence investigators collected, a court document states.
Dr. Jorge Zamora-Quesada, 61, was arrested May 11 and is being held without bond on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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Zamora-Quesada's attorneys filed a request for discovery, to which prosecutors responded with details of what has been handed over or is available for their review. That includes "more than 180,000 pages of documents provided to defense counsel on a digital storage device" and "more than 50 banker boxes of documents and evidence made available for inspection at the offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
The doctor's attorneys are also requesting copies of the search warrant, affidavit and seizure warrants that relate to Zamora-Quesada's bank accounts and personal property, and personal information on alleged victims named in a 20-page indictment against him.
The indictment alleges Zamora-Quesada and others "falsely diagnosed vulnerable patients -- including the young, elderly and disabled from the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio and elsewhere -- with various degenerative diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. He and his co-conspirators then administered chemotherapy and other toxic medications to patients based on that false diagnosis," the government has said.
Zamora-Quesada is accused of using his million-dollar private jet or his Maserati to go between his offices in the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio, and of using proceeds from the alleged fraud to buy private jets, luxury vehicles, high-end clothing and real estate in the United States and Mexico.
The doctor's attorneys are also asking for electronic or surveillance records; "impeaching information" about government witnesses -- including information on "rap sheets," promises made to witnesses, details if those witnesses testified before any court or grand jury; the identities of any informants; whether there are co-conspirator statements.
A judge has yet to rule on those requests.
Zamora-Quesada's attorneys have also asked the judge to set a bond in the case. That issue is also pending.
The arrest and indictment have not ended the investigation into Zamora-Quezada. The FBI has said he victimized "thousands" over at least 18 years, many likely undocumented, non-English speakers. The FBI is trying to identify other possible victims of Zamora-Quezada and his co-conspirators. Anyone who was a patient of Zamora-Quesada's from 2000 through May 2018 and believes they may have been affected by his or his co-conspirators alleged crimes, can contact the FBI at 1-833-432-4873, option 8, or email the task force at ZamoraPatient@fbi.gov.
Officials said they aren't concerned about the immigration status of victims and that they won't be asked to testify if they don't want to.
"The FBI is legally mandated to identify victims of federal crimes that it investigates and provide these victims with information, assistance services and resources," according to a release from the Department of Justice.
The FBI has bilingual victim services representatives and agents that can provide information to non-English speakers.