Two Rio Grande Valley residents were taken into custody in connection to a defrauding case.

McAllen resident, 46-year-old Ricardo Cano, and Edinburg resident, 56-year-old Rosita Cano Meeks, have been charged with defrauding a federal worker's compensation program after being involved in a state-wide chain of physical therapy clinics, according to a news release.

Cano and Meeks were taken into custody on Thursday and are expected to make initial court appearances in the afternoon, according to the release.

The 18-count indictment charges Cano and Meeks with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and 10 counts of health care fraud. Cano is also charged with seven counts of money laundering, according to the release.

The indictment alleges between 2014 and 2019, the clinics, operating under the name Texas Federal Wellness Center, billed more than $80 million to the Department of Labor - Office of Worker’s Compensation Program for physical therapy services provided to injured federal employees, according to the release.

The indictment states Cano and Meeks allegedly caused the clinics to submit inflated claims for various services, including therapy, fictional medical visits, excessive therapy and fraudulent durable medical equipment, according to the release.

The charges allege Cano and Meeks directed clinic employees to falsify patient checkout times on medical records to conceal the inflated therapy claims. The indictment states Meeks oversaw the fraudulent billing, according to the release.

The charges also allege Cano is not a physician, only a physician’s assistant. The indictment states Cano entered into an arrangement with a physician to falsely give the appearance a licensed doctor oversaw, managed and controlled the clinics, as Texas law requires, according to the release.

As part of the scheme, Cano allegedly coordinated with the unknown physician to obstruct a Texas Medical Board inquiry into a complaint about Cano’s role in operating the clinics and submitting false corporate records. The indictment also alleges Cano transferred approximately $43 million from the Texas Federal Wellness Center clinics to various bank accounts in Cano’s name or in the name of clinics Cano controlled, according to the release.

If convicted, Cano and Meeks each face up to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and substantive counts of health care fraud. Cano also faces up to 10 years for each conviction of money laundering, according to the release.