Civil lawsuits filed in Texas over exposure to silica and asbestos have prompted a federal grand jury to convene in Manhattan to consider possible criminal charges, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The federal investigation comes after several doctors testified in federal court proceedings in Corpus Christi, Texas that they had diagnosed claimants with an asbestos-related disease and then diagnosed the same claimants with silicosis at a later time, without mentioning the earlier illness.

(via New York Times)