McAllen, TX (KRGV) — The Mission rheumatologist who was convicted of misdiagnosing thousands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis as part of a $240 million healthcare fraud scheme will begin making $25 monthly restitution payments, federal court records show.

The $25 payments, which began on Sunday, Nov. 1, are toward the over $28.2 million Jorge Zamora-Quezada was ordered to pay to taxpayer-funded insurance programs when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on multiple charges of healthcare fraud.

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“Mr. Zamora-Quezada reported he exhausts his monthly income tending to basic living expenses; however, he advised that at this time he can consistently pay $25.00 toward his financial obligations imposed by the court,” an Oct. 9 filing states. “As of this date, Mr. Zamora-Quezada remains in full compliance, and no violations have occurred.”

As previously reported, Zamora-Quezada administered unnecessary treatments, including medicine commonly used to treat cancer, to at least 10,000 patients he falsely diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and other degenerative diseases.

According to the indictment, Zamora-Quezada and his co-conspirators made $240 million in fraudulent claims to multiple healthcare programs, which resulted in Zamora-Quezada being paid $50 million.

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According to the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas, the medications Zamora-Quesada prescribed to patients who didn't need those caused "debilitating side effects." Side effects included strokes, necrosis of the jawbone, hair loss, liver damage, and "pain so severe that basic tasks of everyday life, such as bathing, cooking, and driving, became difficult."

Zamora-Quezada was sentenced in May 2025 but ended up serving only 11 months in federal prison and was released on Friday, June 19, 2026.

The filing says Zamora-Quezada has paid part of his $900 special assessment fees and still owes $600.

Zamora-Quezada has denied the charges and filed to have his sentence vacated shortly after his release from prison. Federal court records show his request was dismissed in September.