Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have announced a nationwide health care fraud take down stopping schemes defrauding Medicare and Medicaid out of $2 billion. Nationally, 601 defendants have been charged, including more than 165 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals in schemes involving approximately $2 billion in false billings. As a result of the nationwide operation Florida’s MFCU, working with federal agencies, arrested five individuals on charges involving more than $12.5 million in fraudulent billing, and brought several additional local cases.
“Health care fraud costs taxpayers billions of dollars, increases medical costs and even helps fuel the national opioid crisis. As part of this massive nationwide effort, we were able to arrest some of the worst offenders and stop the illegal sale of prescription opioids—and hopefully safe lives,” said Bondi.
As part of the nationwide takedown, Florida’s MFCU, FBI, and HHS-OIG arrested Evelio Ramirez, 58, and Rosana P. Ramirez, 58, for defrauding the Medicaid and Medicare programs while working at F&E Home Health Care, Inc., a home health agency in Miami. The defendants allegedly defrauded Part A of the Medicare program out of more than $7 million and Medicaid out of more than $368,000 by billing for home health services never provided to beneficiaries, as well as paying kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals. U.S. Attorney Miesha Shonta Darrough will prosecute the case.