Former Zynex employees in Colorado react to federal fraud indictment; "It just gets billed and billed"

Two former executives of a Colorado medical device company are accused in a multiyear scheme to defraud health care payors, patients and investors.

Thomas Sandgaard, 67, of Castle Rock and Anna Lucsok, 39, of Denver have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, mail fraud and securities fraud, as well as nine counts of health care fraud, two counts of mail fraud and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

It all centers around Zynex Inc., whose headquarters are in Englewood.

Multiple former Zynex employees told CBS Colorado the indictment does not come as a surprise. They say they witnessed improper billing and over-shipping, and that those who raised concerns were often let go.

"Initially it was pretty positive, and, you know, feeling ambitious," said former employee Anthony Drayton.

In 2022, Drayton was excited to get a job with Zynex, whose medical devices provide noninvasive pain management.

"The best part about the job was dealing with the patients. It was the patients who actually had hope and who really were looking forward to some kind of this alternative other than just being on drugs all the time for dealing with pain," said Drayton.

But soon, Drayton says he felt pressured to put profit over what was best for patients.

"It was just a lot of misinformation that these people were given to almost just kind of just get them to stop asking questions," said Drayton.

Multiple employees say they were told to tell patients the maximum out-of-pocket cost if insurance did not cover the device was $250, but patients would often receive bills in the thousands for supplies they did not need.

"They just start getting just spammed with electrodes and batteries, and it just gets billed and billed and billed and billed and billed, and they'll send so many and you have people calling back, like, two, three months later, like, please stop sending me these supplies. Like, my insurance company called me and they're raising my rates because they're getting billed this, that, and the third," said Drayton.

"That's where they made their most money. Was because of the supplies ... A lot of people don't catch on to it, because it's just getting billed to insurance."

Multiple employees say workers who shared concerns or advocated for patient care over metrics were let go.

"Those people were getting thrown by the wayside, because they were helping and doing right by their patients," said Drayton.

When Drayton was let go in 2024, he says he sued Zynex for wrongful termination and that a settlement was reached.

This month, a federal grand jury indicted former CEO Thomas Sandgaard and former COO Anna Lucsok on multiple counts of fraud.
The indictment alleges they orchestrated a fraud scheme to obtain millions of dollars from health care payors and patients and defraud investors.

It alleges they did this by routinely shipping excessive and unnecessary medical supplies to patients -- that were not covered by insurance or agreed to by patients -- and fraudulently billing millions of dollars for those supplies.

Drayton said news of the indictment was validating.

"This type of practice that just was unethical at the end of the day, was unethical and it was illegal, obviously," said Drayton.

The Department of Justice says the government is seizing assets from Sandgaard and Lucsok, including luxury cars, a private jet and properties in Colorado and Florida.

Online court records indicate Sandgaard and Lucsok were arrested Wednesday. An FBI Boston social media post says the arrest was made by FBI Boston and FBI Denver special agents and partners.

"These are our grandparents, these are our uncles, aunts and, you know, moms and dads and these are people who we care about in community," said Drayton. "I think that, you know, they've been hoodwinked a little bit ... I think that accountability is important."

Zynex said in a statement that "the individuals named in the indictment are no longer employed by Zynex and play no role in Zynex's current operations. Following the indictment, the Board of Directors removed Thomas Sandgaard as director and chair of the board. The company has not been charged in any criminal or civil enforcement matters."

The company says it has undergone a recent overhaul and has cooperated extensively with the DOJ.

A Zynex Medical spokesperson told CBS Colorado that Sandgaard retired as CEO in August 2025 and Lucsok resigned in October 2025.

Lucsok and Sandgaard have not yet responded to CBS Colorado's request for comment.