Case highlights months-long ineligibility for five patients and renewed oversight of hospital records.
HOUSTON, Texas — A federal grand jury has charged a 66-year-old Houston transplant surgeon with five counts of making false statements in patient records, alleging the entries made five liver candidates ineligible to receive donor offers. The doctor surrendered and made an initial court appearance Thursday before a magistrate judge.
The case matters because it moves beyond a hospital review into the criminal courts and puts transplant documentation under a national microscope. Prosecutors say the entries were unknown to patients and other clinicians and left candidates waiting for offers that could not arrive. Three patients named in the indictment died while waiting or during surgery; two later received transplants after transferring care. Investigators with the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services say the matter underscores how a single user’s changes can shape life-or-death outcomes inside matching systems.
According to the indictment, the surgeon held leadership roles in abdominal organ and liver transplantation. From March 2023 to March 2024, he allegedly changed donor-matching criteria that “severely restricted” or effectively blocked offers. One patient, the filing says, was ineligible for about 149 days before dying in February 2024. Another, ineligible for roughly 69 days, died in December 2023 during a surgery to receive a new liver. A third “urgent” case died two days after criteria were changed in December 2023. Two patients ultimately obtained livers elsewhere. “Dr. Bynon is alleged to have betrayed the most sacred duty of a medical professional — to heal,” U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei said.
Officials said many patients remained blocked without knowing their records had been altered. The FBI’s Houston office said the bureau will investigate patient-harm allegations regardless of a hospital’s standing, and HHS’s inspector general said falsifying eligibility undermines trust in the system. The indictment does not state a motive. Prosecutors said that, because eligibility status affects billing and care decisions, federal programs continued paying as if patients could receive offers, even when they could not. Investigators emphasized that the case concerns five patients described in the indictment; other questions remain under review.
Defense attorney Samy Khalil said the surgeon acted lawfully and in good faith and called him a talented specialist with more than 2,000 transplants over four decades. The hospital temporarily paused its liver and kidney programs in 2024 amid internal concerns and later restarted under additional oversight. A national transplant network designated the institution “not in good standing” in 2025, citing serious lapses; the hospital has since reported corrective steps.
The indictment was returned Jan. 14 and unsealed Thursday. Each count carries up to five years in prison and a potential $250,000 fine. The defendant has pleaded not guilty. Civil lawsuits by families who lost relatives while waiting for livers remain pending in county court. Prosecutors said the case will proceed through standard discovery, with future hearings to be set by the court. No trial date has been announced.
Outside the courthouse, relatives described sleepless nights waiting for a phone call that never came and confusion about status changes they did not understand. A former program nurse said new checks on record changes are already in place and called the allegations “devastating” for staff and families. Court security reported a routine crowd and no disruptions. The judge released the defendant under standard conditions, including travel limits.
The case remains active. The court’s next scheduling conference is expected to be set in the coming days, with prosecutors indicating additional filings will detail timelines and witness lists.
Author note: Last updated February 6, 2026.