Captured Fugitives
CAPTURED: Jose Diego Calero
- In August 2009, Jose Diego Calero was indicted on charges of Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering, and Forfeiture. Calero allegedly submitted more than $4.8 million in claims to Medicare for physical and occupational therapy services that either were not prescribed by doctors or were not provided as claimed.
- Calero was the Director of Premier Quality Physical Therapy, Inc., (Premier), a Florida-based company that purportedly provided physical therapy and occupational therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. Investigators believe that from approximately September 2008 to February 2009, Calero caused Premier to submit more than $4.8 million in false claims to Medicare, for which he received more than $2.7 million in payments.
- The funds received from Medicare were allegedly deposited into the Premier corporate account and then transferred to the personal accounts of Calero and others.
- Calero, who is from Colombia, was captured in March 2012 by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Falfurrias, Texas, for alleged illegal entry into the United States. He is expected to be transferred to Miami, where he will face charges.
- This case was investigated as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a coordinated effort by Federal, State, and local law enforcement entities aimed at quickly identifying and prosecuting those alleged to have committed health care fraud.
CAPTURED: Rafael Rodriguez Gonzalez
- In April 2011, Rafael Rodriguez Gonzalez was indicted on charges of Health care Fraud and Forfeiture. Investigators believe that Gonzalez, through his durable medical equipment (DME) company, submitted more than $1.7 million in Medicare claims for medical supplies that were either not provided to Medicare beneficiaries or not medically necessary.
- According to the indictment, Gonzalez operated Venus Medical Supply, Inc., a DME company based in Hialeah, Florida. From approximately November 2008 until March 2009, Gonzalez allegedly caused Venus Medical to submit more than $1.7 million in Medicare claims for wound care supplies, urinary catheter supplies, and other DME purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries, to which Medicare provided $247,844 in payments.
- However, investigators interviewed the top two referring physicians whose names were on the claims submitted by Venus Medical and learned that the physicians did not prescribe any of the services in question nor were they familiar with any of the beneficiaries listed on the claims. In addition, investigators determined that more than 20 beneficiaries filed complaints with Medicare alleging that they did not receive services that were billed by Venus Medical.
- Gonzalez was arrested in April 2012 at Miami International Airport, after arriving from Cuba.
CAPTURED: Pedro E. Rivera
- In August 2009, a Federal indictment was issued for Pedro E. Rivera, charging him with Health care Fraud and Forfeiture. Investigators believe that Rivera caused his durable medical equipment (DME) company to submit more than $1.5 million in Medicare claims for DME that was neither prescribed by doctors nor delivered to patients.
- According to the indictment, in January 2009, Rivera became the president of A&M Medical Equipment Services, Inc., in Miami, Florida. From January through April 2009, A&M Medical allegedly submitted more than $1.5 million in false claims to Medicare for wound care supplies, urinary catheter supplies, and other DME purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries. However, these supplies were neither prescribed by doctors nor delivered to Medicare patients. Investigators believe that A&M Medical submitted claims for at least six deceased beneficiaries during that timeframe.
- According to the indictment, A&M received $159,855 in payments from Medicare and Rivera allegedly transferred these funds from the A&M Medical checking account to himself and others.
- Rivera was captured in March 2012 by U.S. Border Patrol Agents in Falfurrias, Texas, for alleged illegal entry into the United States. He is expected to be transferred to Miami, where he will face charges.
- This case was investigated as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a coordinated effort by Federal, State, and local law enforcement entities aimed at quickly identifying and prosecuting those alleged to have committed health care fraud.
CAPTURED: Eliezer Salgado
- In December 2011, Eliezer Salgado was indicted on charges of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. Investigators believe that Salgado was part of a large health care fraud scheme that netted more than $90 million in false payments from Medicare and Medicaid.
- According to the indictment, Salgado's co-conspirators headed a drug trafficking organization, and operated pain clinics in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in South Florida. These pain clinics employed physicians who fraudulently prescribed oxycodone and oxymorphone for co-conspirator beneficiaries of Medicare and other prescription drug insurance plans. The beneficiaries then presented the fraudulent prescriptions to complicit pharmacies operated by co-conspirators. Once the prescriptions were filled, Medicare and other insurers were billed for the cost of the prescriptions. Pharmacy owners allegedly knew that the drugs were medically unnecessary and that they were then being re-sold by the beneficiaries to the drug trafficking organization. Investigators believe that these pharmacy owners also sold these drugs on the street for profit, often shipping the drugs out of State.
- Salgado and several other co-conspirators allegedly facilitated the drug trafficking and health care fraud by (1) recruiting and paying the corrupt health insurance beneficiaries to visit the pain clinics, (2) possessing and delivering the prescription drugs, and (3) acting as money couriers.
- Salgado, who is originally from Cuba, turned himself into U. S . Customs and Border Patrol at the Brownsville, Texas, port of entry on April 14, 2012. He is expected to be transferred to Miami, where he will face charges from his indictment.
- As of April 2012, 22 defendants, including the owners of the pain clinics and pharmacies, have pleaded guilty to health care fraud-related charges and are awaiting sentencing in June and July 2012. One of the defendants awaiting sentencing, former pain clinic doctor Frank Ballesteros, was found guilty by a South Florida jury on charges of Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, and Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud.
CAPTURED: Saqib Ali
- On November 14, 2011, Saqib Ali was sentenced in Federal court to 21 months in prison for defrauding the Medicare program of approximately $126,000. Press Release
- Ali was the owner of Medtechnology Inc, a purported clinical laboratory operating in Rutherford, New Jersey. From July to November 1997, Ali caused the submission of approximately $200,000 in false claims to be submitted to Medicare for services that were not performed.
- Ali fled the United States for Pakistan after his arrest in 1998, and he remained a fugitive for over a decade.
- In March 2011, Ali contacted U.S. officials in Pakistan and voluntarily agreed to return to the United States. He was taken into custody on May 30 and pleaded guilty on July 19 to 10 counts of an indictment that charged him with Health Care Fraud.
CAPTURED: Tariq Usman
- Tariq Usman was taken into custody on November 21, 2011, in Chicago. Usman contacted OIG's hotline in late summer 2011 after discovering that he was on the OIG Most Wanted Fugitive list. He told agents that he wanted to return to the United States and surrender.
- In May 2009, Usman was indicted on charges of health care fraud and criminal forfeiture. He fled the United States shortly after being implicated in the scheme.
- From July 2003 through March 2007, Usman and several accomplices allegedly committed health care fraud in the Detroit area by paying Medicare beneficiaries to sign Medicare reimbursement forms and paying doctors and therapists to sign fictitious files for treatment and services that were not provided.
- According to court documents, Usman and his accomplices then fraudulently filed reimbursement forms with Medicare, seeking payment for medical services and treatments that were not provided.
- Investigators believe that Usman and his accomplices submitted approximately $4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare. Usman and his accomplices also allegedly established several fictitious companies in an effort to conceal the money and assets gained from the scheme.
CAPTURED: Maksim Shelikhov
- On November 14, 2011, Maksim Shelikhov was detained by law enforcement in Canada and transported to the United States to face charges.
- In October 2010, Shelikhov and co-conspirators were indicted on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud, Conspiracy to Pay Health Care Kickbacks, and Health Care Fraud for their part in an alleged scheme to defraud the Medicare program of over $71 million.
- Bay Medical Care PC, SVS Wellcare Medical PLLC, and SZS Medical Care PLLC all operated in Brooklyn, New York, and purported to provide physical therapy, nerve conduction tests, vestibular function tests, allergy services, and sleep studies.
- Shelikhov was the signatory of a bank account into which Medicare reimbursement was made for SZS Medical. According to the indictment, Shelikhov and his co-conspirators recruited and paid cash to Medicare beneficiaries for participating in medically unnecessary testing and procedures that were never actually provided. Shelikhov and his co-conspirators allegedly created fraudulent medical records for these beneficiaries and then billed Medicare for false and fraudulent claims.
CAPTURED: Rolando Cueto
- Rolando Cueto was captured on June 30, 2011 at Miami International Airport. Prior to his arrest, he was residing in Costa Rica using a fraudulent identity.
- In September 2008, an indictment was filed charging Rolando Cueto and Juan Carlos Garcia with one count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and six counts of Health Care Fraud.
- Cueto was the true owner and operator of E.O. Medical Enterprises, a durable medical equipment company operating in Hialeah, Florida. E.O. Medical submitted over $1.8 million in false claims to Medicare for medical equipment that was neither ordered by a physician nor provided to the beneficiary as claimed.
- Cueto attempted to use a nominee owner to hide his involvement in the scheme. Cueto also recruited individuals to cash checks drawn on E.O. Medical's bank account, who then returned the cash to Cueto.
- Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and is currently serving his 2.5-year jail sentence. Garcia was also ordered to pay over $500,000 in restitution.
CAPTURED: Luis Perez Moreira
- Luis Perez Moreira is a subject in two separate criminal investigations involving E & E Medical Services Corporation (d/b/a Elbia's Pharmacy) and Rx Plus Medical Care (Rx Plus), both based in Miami.
- In April 2010, Moreira and co-conspirator Emilio Tain were indicted on charges of Health Care Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. As operators of Elbia's Pharmacy, Moreira and Tain allegedly submitted or caused Elbia's Pharmacy to submit more than $770,000 in fraudulent billings to Medicare for prescription drugs and other items that were not medically necessary, not prescribed by a doctor, and not provided to Medicare patients.
- UPDATE: Moreira was sentenced on September 15, 2011, to 63 months' incarceration. In September 2010, Tain pled guilty to charges of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and was sentenced to 10 months' incarceration.
- Moreira has also been indicted on charges of Health Care Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud for his role in the operation of Rx Plus, a durable medical equipment company.
- According to the September 2010 indictment, Moreira and a co-conspirator controlled and operated Rx Plus. From August 2008 through April 2009, they allegedly submitted more than $2.5 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $383,000.
- Investigators believe that, in order to avoid detection, Moreira and his co-conspirator recruited a nominee owner (an individual who pretends to be the owner to conceal the actual owner's identity) to use his name on the corporation's paperwork, to open bank accounts, and to sign company checks.
- Moreira was captured on June 7, 2011, at Miami International Airport. Prior to his arrest, Moreira had been living in Cancun, Mexico.
CAPTURED: Clara Guilarte and Caridad Guilarte
- Sisters Clara and Caridad Guilarte were captured in Colombia on March 13, 2011. They pleaded guilty in August 2011 to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering.
- UPDATE: The Guilartes were sentenced on November 3, 2011 in Miami. Each is to serve 14 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. They were also ordered to pay approximately $6 million in restitution, jointly with co-defendants.
- Along with previously captured co-conspirator Reynel Betancourt, the Guilartes submitted $9.1 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never provided.
- The Guilartes operated the Dearborn Medical and Rehabilitation Center (DMRC), an infusion therapy clinic in Michigan, where Betancourt was an employee.
- All three fugitives allegedly committed health care fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. The trio recruited and paid cash and other inducements to Medicare beneficiaries to visit DMRC and sign forms indicating that they received legitimate medical services, including injections and infusions of expensive medications, although the services were never provided.
- http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/November/11-crm-1450.html
CAPTURED: Zoya Belov
- Zoya Belov, who with co-conspirators allegedly defrauded the Medicare program, was captured on March 23, 2011 at the San Francisco International Airport.
- The purported leader of the conspiracy, Vardges Egiazarian, owned three medical clinics in eastern California (specifically, in Sacramento, Richmond and Carmichael). From February 2006 to August 2008, these clinics allegedly submitted a total of nearly $5.2 million worth of false billings to Medicare, of which Medicare paid approximately $1.5 million. Belov, a medical assistant at the clinics, falsely claimed to have performed medical tests on patients, and requested reimbursements from Medicare, OIG alleges.
- The fraud was purportedly accomplished by recruiting and paying third parties to pretend to be "patients" who wished to receive medical treatment at one of the alleged conspirators' clinics. Normally, patients must pay for a certain portion of their medical expenses, and Medicare may pay the remainder. In this fraud, the individuals pretending to be patients were paid by the conspirators to state that they needed medical treatment when they did not.
- Belov would allegedly perform unnecessary medical tests on the patients, or fraudulently claim to have performed the tests when she had not. Belov and others then submitted the fraudulent claims to Medicare for medical services that were not performed, not performed as billed, or unnecessary, according to OIG.
- In an attempt to conceal the alleged fraud from Medicare representatives, Belov allegedly lied about the whereabouts and activities of the other conspirators.
CAPTURED: Reynel Betancourt
- Reynel Betancourt was sentenced on June 7, 2011, to 77 months in prison and ordered to pay approximately $6 million in restitution, joint and several, after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
- From about March 2006 to March 2007, Betancourt worked at the Dearborn Medical and Rehabilitation Center (DMRC), an infusion therapy clinic in Michigan, which was owned and operated by sisters Clara and Caridad Guilarte.
- Betancourt and his co-conspirators entered into an agreement to pay Medicare beneficiaries to receive treatments at DMRC. The infusion therapy clinic then submitted over $9 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never provided.
- The Guilarte sisters were captured in Colombia on March 13, 2011. The Guilartes were sentenced on November 3, 2011 in Miami. Each is to serve 14 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. They were also ordered to pay approximately $6 million in restitution, jointly with co-defendants.
- On November 30, 2010, authorities captured Betancourt in the Dominican Republic.
CAPTURED: Steven Moos
- Steven Moos is charged with drug possession, fraudulent Internet marketing, and child endangerment.
- Formerly a general practice physician in Oregon, Moos lost his medical license after he repeatedly prescribed numerous prescription drugs over the Internet, despite warnings from the State medical authorities to stop such practices.
- According to the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners, Moos prescribed drugs and refilled prescriptions without physically examining patients or obtaining health record information from them or their primary care providers.
- After his medical license was revoked, Moos allegedly continued to practice medicine and prescribe drugs and made false statements on a Drug Enforcement Administration registration renewal application to conceal the fact that he no longer had a medical license to prescribe drugs, according to the indictment.
- The Federal indictment stated that in the summer of 2002, Moos allegedly ordered misbranded drugs (including human growth hormone) from China. The drugs did not have adequate directions for use or warnings and other required information.
- On April 19, 2011, in the United States District Court, District of Oregon, Moos pleaded guilty to a single count of the Indictment (Title 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 2 - False Claims and Statements). Moos was sentenced to serve 4 months of home detention, 3 years of probation, and 200 hours of volunteer community service.
