To bilk a government health program out of nearly $30 million, Dallas lawyer Tshombe Anderson and his family members used trickery and outright fraud, prosecutors say.

Anderson had his niece obtain an internship at the U.S. Labor Department so she could snoop through claims files, learn the system and act as a "mole." And Anderson, his wife and his sister formed businesses to bill the federal worker's compensation program for unnecessary medical equipment that in some cases wasn't even provided, according to federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn sentenced Anderson on Thursday to the maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. She also ordered him to pay more than $26 million in restitution minus what the government has already collected from him.

Authorities seized more than $9 million from Anderson and his co-defendants as well as three vehicles and two real estate properties, records show.

Anderson's attorney, Derek Staub, declined to comment after the hearing.

Anderson, 55, who has family ties in Zimbabwe, has been in custody since his 2015 arrest on the grounds that he is a flight risk. A federal magistrate said in his ruling that Anderson had sent much of the proceeds from the fraud to Zimbabwe. And federal agents who raided the couple's home found about $300,000 in cash "bundled together" in a way that would allow him to "pick up a bag and go," prosecutors said.

Tshombe Anderson is accused of defrauding the federal workers compensation program out of more than $26 million. (Tshombe Anderson / Tshombe Anderson)

Anderson pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. His wife at the time, Brenda Anderson, 47, pleaded guilty last year to making a false statement relating to a federal health care benefit program.

Anderson's sister, Lydia Bankhead, 63, pleaded guilty earlier this month to an aiding and abetting charge. And Lydia Taylor, 30, his niece, pleaded guilty in March to participating in a matter affecting an employee's financial interest.

Bankhead bought construction equipment from Maryland and shipped it to Zimbabwe, where her family members run a business, court records show.

The three family members are still awaiting sentencing. Their attorneys could not immediately be reached.

Anderson's sister-in-law, Janet Anderson, also was charged in the indictment. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana asked the judge in December 2017 to dismiss the charges against her "in the interests of justice."

Lynn granted that request in January. Janet Anderson had moved to Europe in 2014. She has a German passport and her attorney said in January that his client planned to return to that country.

Anderson also recruited his 84-year-old mother in the scheme, court records show. She was not charged.

"Anderson stole patient information from over 200 injured federal workers and then used the information to fraudulently bill OWCP [workers' comp], enriching himself and others with taxpayer dollars intended for the treatment of injured federal workers," said Steven Grell, Special Agent in-Charge for the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General.

Tshombe Anderson's law license is currently suspended, according to state bar records. He was licensed to practice law in Texas in 1999. His license has been suspended four other times since 2005, and he received a public reprimand in 2007, state bar records show.

Intern mole

Anderson was the scheme's ringleader who submitted false medical billings for items such as Biofreeze and compression gloves.

He had Taylor planted at the Labor Department to "give warning to family members" while serving as a volunteer intern, court records said. She was to inform her family if "suspicions arose about their fraudulent billing," the records said.

Taylor, who also worked for her uncle's medical billing companies, looked up claim numbers on the Labor Department's computer system and gave information to her co-conspirators about the claims, the indictment said.

Tshombe Anderson worked as an attorney for Union Treatment Center from about February 2010 to May 2011, according to a federal complaint. The treatment and rehab center had offices in Austin, Corpus Christi, Killeen and San Antonio.

The center treated injured state and federal workers' compensation patients.

Union fired the Andersons in 2011 after learning of the billing fraud, documents say. But the couple kept the Union patient information and continued the false billings, officials said.

In some cases, Anderson billed for equipment he didn't provide. Other times he provided equipment that had nothing to do with a patient's injury, the plea documents said. For example, he gave knee braces to patients with carpel tunnel syndrome. Other patients refused his medical equipment, prosecutors say.

The Anderson family members used more than 250 patient claim numbers to bill the federal workers' compensation program from July 2011 to September 2015 , officials said.

Taylor's family gave her a $45,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee as "partial payment" for her role in the fraud scheme, according to prosecutors. Anderson and his sister also paid for Taylor's college and living expenses, authorities said.

Tshombe Anderson maintained a law office during the alleged conspiracy but did "very little" legal work, prosecutors said.

Michael P. Heiskell, the attorney for Bankhead, said his client pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor that reflected her low level of involvement. He called Tshombe Anderson the "driving force" behind the fraud.

"He used her and others in carrying out this nefarious scheme," he said.

Heiskell said Bankhead is the sole caretaker of their elderly mother and that he hopes she will receive probation when she is sentenced.

UPDATE: This story was updated to include a quote from the Labor Department as well as the ages of the defendants and a comment from a defense attorney.