New Americans Sent to Slammer over Massive Health Care Fraud Scheme

12/31/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

“[A]fter arriving in the United States from Cuba on a raft seeking refuge and a better life…they proceeded to build a vast empire of fraud.”

I could not find a photo of the Cuban crooks.

Here is the news directly from the US Justice Department, and I must say this is one of the better press releases I’ve seen from the feds especially for its mention of the fact that the Cuban crooks were refugees who then took advantage of us. (Immigration history is rarely mentioned.)

(Thanks to one of my many readers who share tips with me.)

We gave them an opportunity for a good life, they ripped us off and now we must pay for their incarceration!

Husband and Wife Sentenced to Prison for Roles in $38 Million Health Care Fraud and Wire Fraud Scheme

Rodolfo Pichardo, 71, of Hialeah, Florida was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for masterminding a $38 million health care fraud and wire fraud scheme. His wife Marta Pichardo, 66, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for her role in the scheme.

[….]

Rodolfo Pichardo and Marta Pichardo previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. On December 4, 2019, Rodolfo Pichardo, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz to 188 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $33,841,576 in restitution. Today, Marta Pichardo was sentenced by Judge Ruiz to 96 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay $10,482,178 in restitution.

According to court documents, after arriving in the United States from Cuba on a raft seeking refuge and a better life, the Rodolfo Pichardo and his wife Marta Pichardo settled in Miami-Dade County, Florida where they proceeded to build a vast empire of fraud, consisting of at least six fraudulent home health agencies, three fraudulent therapy staffing companies, and two fraudulent pharmacies. Each of these entities purportedly provided home health services, therapy services, and prescription drugs, respectively, to qualified Medicare beneficiaries, though in fact and as both Rodolfo and Marta Pichardo knew, they did not.

From May 2010 through September 2016, the Pichardos and their co-conspirators used this empire to submit more than $38 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, for which the trust-based program then paid out more than $33 million.

Fueled their lavish lifestyle with your money!

The Pichardos then used this money to purchase multiple properties, high-end vehicles, expensive jewelry, plane tickets, vacations, cosmetic procedures, and more, both for themselves and their family members.

As part of the scheme, Rodolfo Pichardo offered and paid kickbacks, both by cash and by check, to numerous patient recruiters, in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to home health agencies that he owned. The conspirators also offered and paid cash kickbacks to owners and operators of multiple Miami-Dade medical clinics, in return for acquiring medically unnecessary home health prescriptions for the recruited Medicare beneficiaries. These prescriptions were then used by the Pichardos’ various home health agencies and pharmacies to bill Medicare for purported services and pharmaceutical drugs that were provided to allegedly qualified Medicare beneficiaries

During the long-running scheme, the Pichardos took several calculated steps to conceal the fraud and avoid detection, including using nominee owners, changing names and locations of their fraudulent entities, and creating shell companies to conceal the receipt of the fraud proceeds, hide assets and transactions, and divert proceeds for both personal use and to further the fraud.

There is a bit more here.

So much for Michael Bloomberg’s New American Economy built on immigrant entrepreneurs.

As I have said before, the President should work some of the fantastic fraud busts his Justice Department is exposing into each rally he attends. He could direct his staff to find one or two relevant to whatever state he is visiting.

I think Florida fraudsters might outnumber Michigan schemers here at ‘Frauds and Crooks’, but I’ll check my archives tomorrow on this blogs first anniversary!

Don’t forget to check in at Refugee Resettlement Watch which has been taking most of my attention in recent weeks!

Happy New Year!

Miami: Dozens Busted in Medicare Drug Fraud Scheme

11/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran

According to one article on the latest fraud bust involving Medicare, Florida is number one in the nation for such schemes.

And, every time I see a story like this I imagine the massive fraud we would have if Elizabeth Warren got her dream program—Medicare for all!

Some of the names of those ‘new Americans’ arrested include: Ingrid Perdomo, Stirlitz Pio Diaz, Luiba Rodriguez Leyva, Diana Cabrera, Katia Ramirez, Daymis Sanchez, and Yanelys Lozano. Cubans I’m guessing.

New American Economy?

When you hear from groups like Michael Bloomberg’s New American Economy about the entrepreneurial spirit and economic benefits ‘new Americans’ contribute to our country think about this bunch! And, don’t forget, Bloomberg is a leading advocate for more immigration!

There are actually two separate busts…

Here is the first story from Tuesday that explains how the scam works from NBC Miami:

Nearly 20 Suspects Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Medicare Fraud Across 2 Miami Pharmacies

Nearly two dozen people have been charged by Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution for their involvement in a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme that took place at two Miami pharmacies over the course of several years.

A total of 19 suspects are facing charges including organized fraud, racketeering, grand theft and money laundering, according to arrest warrants released Tuesday.

The scheme made use of professional beneficiaries, which are people who allow their Medicare benefits to be exploited by fraudsters in exchange for monetary compensation, the warrants said.

In this case, the professional beneficiaries involved were receiving up to 30 percent of the profits from each medication that was fraudulently billed by either Santander Pharmacy or Wynwood Family Pharmacy Corporation, the warrants said.

The beneficiaries would visit doctors in order to acquire prescriptions for medications they did not need. The prescriptions would be taken to Santander or Wynwood pharmacies, where the drugs would be charged to Medicare even though the drugs would never actually be dispensed or received.

The drugs that were fraudulently billed tended to be highly expensive, such as anti-psychotic drugs, according to the arrest warrants.

Since the operation began in Santander Pharmacy in 2015, more than $4 million in federal funds has been stolen using this method.

According to the arrest warrants, South Florida leads the country in this kind of Medicare fraud, particularly Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Individuals establish a pharmacy by submitting corporate documents and obtaining a pharmacy license from the Florida Department of Health, and then commit fraud by submitting claims to Medicare for services that are never actually rendered or needed.

More here.

From the Miami Herald yesterday:

At least 30 people have been charged in connection with a string of South Florida pharmacies state authorities say fraudulently billed Medicare — a scam that continues to be one of Miami’s most lucrative illegal industries.

Police officers on Tuesday began arresting dozens associated with Tata Pharmacy Discount, Lozano Health Care, and in a separate case, Wynwood Family Pharmacy and Santander Pharmacy.

Those arrested in the sprawling case are facing charges of racketeering, organized scheme to defraud and money laundering.

The investigation was spearheaded by the Statewide Prosecutor’s Office, Miami-Dade police and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Medicare fraud has long been rampant in South Florida, costing taxpayers billions. Over the past decade, pharmacies have become particular cash cows, with owners and middlemen scouring nursing homes, paying kickbacks to elderly patients in exchange for allowing them to bill for unnecessary medicines in their names.

Continue reading here.

I have more Medicare/Medicaid/Food Stamp fraud cases in my queue to post which I hope to get to in the coming days.

Florida: Do You Know Who is Delivering Purchases to Your Home?

09/17/201909/21/2019 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ 3 Comments

That is what the Palm Beach Post asked in a front page headline in the wake of the horrific murder of a vulnerable grandmother who was probably so excited to be receiving her brand new washer and dryer a few weeks ago—not knowing that her new appliances spelled death.

Evelyn Udell Smith, a grandmother who had been married for 55 years, is dead.

Who could imagine that a delivery man, working as a subcontractor for a company hired by Best Buy, would beat her with a mallet, douse her with chemicals and set her on fire!

Did you see this story? I hadn’t until a reader sent me a clipping from the local newspaper, the Palm Beach Post.

Here Fox News explains briefly.

But in a follow-up to the original murder story, the Palm Beach Post asked,

Who’s coming into your home? Boca homicide makes you wonder

Evelyn Udell Smith died Tuesday following an attack Monday at her Boca Raton home.

Details about Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo, the man facing a murder charge in her death, began to emerge Wednesday.

Cuban Killer Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo confessed to the murder, motive unknown!

The man accused in the beating death of a woman whose appliances he had just delivered for Best Buy didn’t work for the electronics giant. He worked for a company hired by a company hired by Best Buy.

Which raises the question: Who’s coming into your home?

Boca Raton police have charged Jorge Luis Dupre Lachazo with murder in Monday’s attack on Evelyn Smith Udell, who died the following day.

She was a mother of two and a grandmother of six. Married for 55 years. A retired college library worker. And days short of her 76th birthday.

“It’s just a horrific thing,” her daughter-in-law, Sloane Udell, said Wednesday.

Police said they haven’t determined what set off Dupre Lachazo, 21, who confessed to attacking Smith at her home in Colonnades at Glen Oaks, a neighborhood at Jog and Yamato roads just south of Spanish River High School. Arriving authorities found her in her laundry room, her clothes on fire.

“I need somebody. I need the police here,” David Gonzalez, the delivery driver whom Dupre Lachazo was helping, told police amid sobs on a 911 recording city police provided Wednesday.

The dispatcher asked if he needed just paramedics, or police. Gonzales answered, “Both.”

[….]

The problem, Davis [Donna Davis, a professor of supply-chain management] said, is that the customer waiting for delivery isn’t thinking the man or woman at her door works for some unnamed subcontractor. Or even for an outfit as big as J.B. Hunt. She’s thinking Best Buy. And that provides a false sense of security.

[….]

According to the 911 recording, after Gonzalez asked for police to come to the house, the dispatcher patched in an interpreter, who relayed the man’s frantic description of what had occurred. [BTW, if this pair hardly spoke English how the hell were they going to explain how to operate the new appliances?—ed]

About five minutes into the call, a man presumed to be Dupre Lachazo is heard in the background. This likely is when he ran past Gonzalez, got into the company truck and drove off. He was captured a few minutes later…

More of the dreadful story is here.

Pay attention to the lesson! As more foreign cheap labor is hired by greedy companies, you won’t know who is coming into your home!

And, frankly, stories like this should be widely disseminated by the national media as a public service to us, but they won’t be because the message isn’t one the Progressives who are the media want you to hear!

We hear every day about the “vulnerable” women and children at the southern border, but what about our vulnerable senior citizens—Americans!—who are victims of evil creeps like Lachazo!