A new wrinkle in massive Medicare Fraud out of S. Florida. Now fraud rings are being run out of S. America and the Caribbean for American
ex-patriates/retirees!
www.miamiherald.com...=5-Minute_Herald
GABLES (FLORIDA) FIRM BLEW WHISTLE ON MEDICARE SCAMS RUN OUT OF S. AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN
"Back in January, veteran business executive Susan Rawlings Molina was hired to help turn around a struggling Coral Gables company that managed
healthcare plans for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
"Molina's hunch would prove to be correct. In November, federal prosecutors charged six former employees and five others with illegally enrolling
beneficiaries with fake Florida addresses so they could receive millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded healthcare while they were living as retired
expatriates in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
"Although the company itself was not accused of wrongdoing, a half-dozen former employees, including chief operating officer Pedro Hernandez and
marketing director Abram Rodriguez, were charged as members of an international ring that fleeced $25 million from the Medicare and Medicaid programs
for the elderly, disabled and poor.
"Dr. Montoya was the medical front man for the one-of-a-kind scam that raked in millions of dollars from Medicare for services provided to retired
U.S. citizens living in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, authorities say. A licensed physician, Montoya treated patients in Nicaragua and Miami.
In total, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Morales said, about 1,200 expatriates established phony Florida addresses to enroll in Medicare and Medicaid
through Florida Healthcare Plus.
"U.S. embassies in both countries issued warnings that IT IS ILLEGAL TO RECEIVE HEALTHCARE SERVICES PAID BY MEDICARE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY except in an
emergency.
"Florida Healthcare Plus and the contractors flew some patients to Miami to establish phony addresses and undergo evaluations for Medicare, the
prosecutor said. Then, they returned to the Latin American countries, where they were treated by Montoya but also by unlicensed foreign doctors,
Morales said."
edit on 4-12-2014 by MKMoniker because: correction
edit on 4-12-2014 by MKMoniker because: clarity