A federal grand jury in Dallas has indicted 21 people related to the now-bankrupt Forest Park Medical Centers, including surgeons and health care executives, for allegedly taking part in a massive illegal kickback scheme to drum up patients, officials announced Thursday.

Forest Park Medical Centers was a chain of five high-end doctor-owned hospitals in North Texas that ran into major financial troubles and allegations of corruption. The company went bankrupt and its facilities were sold off earlier this year.

The chain catered to upscale patients who had private insurance, and it did not accept Medicare, Medicaid or plans sold on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

The medical center paid about $40 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for patient referrals, federal prosecutors said.

From 2009 to 2013, the medical center billed patient insurance plans more than $500 million and collected over $200 million in paid claims, the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas said.

"Medical providers who enrich themselves through bribes and kickbacks are not only perverting our critical health care system, but they are committing a serious crime," said U.S. Attorney John Parker, of the Northern District of Texas. "Massive, multi-faceted schemes such as this one, built on illegal financial relationships, drive up the cost of health care for everyone and must be stopped."

The indictment was issued last month and unsealed on Thursday.

The following people were charged in the indictment:

Alan Andrew Beauchamp, 64, of Dallas.

Richard Ferdinand Toussaint, Jr., 58, of Dallas.

Wade Neal Barker, 51, of Dallas.

Wilton McPherson Burt, 61, of Costa Rica.

Andrea Kay Smith, 37, of Rockwall.

Carli Adele Hempel, 40, of Plano.

Kelly Wade Loter, 48, of Dallas.

Jackson Jacob, 53, of Murphy.

Douglas Sung Won, 45, of Dallas.

Michael Bassem Rimlawi, 45, of Dallas.

David Daesung Kim, 54, of Southlake.

William Daniel Nicholson IV, 46, of Dallas.

Shawn Mark Henry, 46, of Fort Worth.

Mrugeshkumar Kumar Shah, 42, of Garland.

Gerald Peter Foox, 69, of Tyler.

Frank Gonzales Jr., 41, of Midland.

Israel Ortiz, 49, of Dallas.

Iris Kathleen Forrest, 56, of Dallas.

Andrew Jonathan Hillman, 40, of Dallas.

Semyon Narosov, 51, of Dallas.

Royce Vaughn Bicklein, 44, of San Antonio.

The defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.

In addition, bribes and kickbacks of $500 per month were paid to about 40 primary care physicians and practices to refer patients to the hospital or to surgeons associated with the hospital, authorities said.

The scheme resulted in millions of dollars being billed to Tricare, the military's health care plan; the Department of Labor health care program; and the federal employees' and retirees' health care program, federal officials said.

"The charges announced today show that the government will not tolerate corrupt practices by medical providers motivated by greed," said Dallas FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas M. Class Sr. "The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify those who manipulate and defraud our healthcare system and to seek their prosecution."

A physician injected painkillers into a patient suffering from back problems at Forest Park Medical Center in 2014. (File Photo/David Woo)

Forest Park was founded by Beauchamp, Toussaint, Barker, Burt and others as an out-of-network hospital. That allowed it to set its own prices for services, meaning the hospital was paid higher rates than in-network providers.

The hospital's owners intentionally refused to join insurance networks to allow its physician investors to profit from the higher reimbursement rates, federal authorities said.

Toussaint and Barker co-owned Forest Park while Beauchamp and Burt managed it, officials said.

Toussaint, a Dallas anesthesiologist, was convicted in federal court in March for bilking $10 million from the government by submitting bogus payment claims — including one when he was actually under anesthesia for surgery himself.

Richard Toussaint (John F. Rhodes/The Dallas Morning)

Toussaint faces up to 10 years in federal prison for that case. A sentencing date has not been set yet.

Barker, a bariatric surgeon, was on Forest Park's board of directors.

Smith, Forest Park's referral coordinator, owned a shell entity called Unique Healthcare that was used to funnel bribe and kickback payments to surgeons in exchange for patient referrals, the indictment said.

It wasn't the only one.

Jacob owned a shell entity called Adelaide Business Solutions that he and others used to funnel bribe and kickback payments to surgeons, primary care physicians, chiropractors, lawyers, worker's compensation pre-authorization specialists, and others in exchange for patient referrals, the indictment said.

Illegal kickback money also passed through a commercial real estate company co-owned by Toussaint and Barker, as well as an advertising agency owned by Loter, authorities said.

Kim and Nicholson, both bariatric surgeons, invested in Forest Park and received $4.5 million and $3.4 million, respectively, in bribe and kickback payments for referring their patients to the hospital chain, the indictment said.

Three spinal surgeons, Won, Rimlawi and Henry, also received bribe and kickback payments for referrals, officials said.

The indictment said Won received $7 million, and Rimlawi earned $3.8 million.

Forest Park Medical Center in Frisco before the bankruptcy

The surgeons spent most of the bribe money on marketing for their medical practices and also for personal items like cars, diamonds, and payments to family members, authorities said.

Other health care professionals accused of taking bribes include:

-- Shah, a pain management doctor.

-- Gonzales, a chiropractor who allegedly received about $385,000 in bribes and kickbacks.

-- Foox, who owned an orthopedic clinic in Tyler and allegedly received about $500,000 in bribes and kickbacks.

-- Forrest, a workers' compensation pre-authorization specialist who allegedly received about $450,000 in bribe and kickback payments.

-- Bicklein, a workers' compensation lawyer who allegedly received about $100,000 in bribe and kickback payments.

-- Ortiz, who owned a clinic that allegedly received about $1.1 million in bribe and kickback payments.

-- Hillman and Narosov, who controlled a hospital consulting company and who allegedly earned about $190,000 in bribe and kickback payments.

The defendants face multiple counts related to the payment and receipt of kickbacks and bribes.

Beauchamp, Toussaint, Barker, Burt, Jacob and Henry also face money laundering charges.