(Texas Scorecard) – A Houston surgeon has been indicted in federal court on charges alleging that he falsified medical records in a way that made patients ineligible for organ transplants.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a federal grand jury returned a five count indictment against Dr. John Stevenson Bynon Jr., 66, charging him with making false statements in health care matters. Bynon surrendered to authorities after the indictment was returned and has since been processed.
Federal prosecutors allege that Bynon made false statements in patient medical records that rendered certain transplant candidates functionally ineligible to receive donor organs. The indictment states that patients, their families, and other members of their medical care teams were not informed of the changes. As a result, donor organ offers were not presented to those patients for extended periods of time.
At the time of the alleged conduct, Bynon served as head of the abdominal transplant program at Memorial Hermann Health System. The indictment alleges that Bynon altered information contained in a federally regulated transplant database, affecting transplant eligibility determinations.
According to the DOJ, the false statements were material to whether patients were eligible to receive organ transplants. Prosecutors allege that the conduct kept some patients off the transplant waiting list for months at a time.
Court filings state that several of the affected patients later died before receiving a transplant. Others eventually received organs after being transferred to other hospitals. The indictment does not allege that every patient affected died as a result of the changes, but it does allege that the false statements violated federal law governing health care records.
Federal records indicate that Bynon later acknowledged to health care regulators that he altered transplant database entries in order to bypass federal rules. According to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Bynon told regulators that he believed the changes were necessary to ensure patients were “safely transplanted.”
The issue first became public in April 2024, when Memorial Hermann announced that it had suspended its liver transplant program after identifying irregularities in transplant listing data. Hospital officials later expanded the suspension to include the kidney and pancreas transplant program. At the time, Memorial Hermann stated that inappropriate changes had been made to patient records but said it was still determining how long the conduct had occurred and how many patients were affected.
Following the suspension, federal agencies and transplant oversight organizations began reviewing the hospital’s transplant practices. Reporting from local outlets showed regulators examined compliance with transplant listing requirements and patient safety standards.
The Department of Justice announcement did not identify all patients affected by the alleged conduct. Prosecutors said the investigation remains ongoing. Bynon has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney has not publicly commented on the indictment. If convicted, Bynon faces potential prison time and financial penalties under federal law.