Patient Recruiter Pleads Guilty In Medicare Fraud Scheme
MIAMI (CBS4) – A Miami health care agency's patient recruiter has pleaded guilty to her part in a $25 million scheme to defraud Medicare.
Beatriz Torres-Cruz, 50, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of solicitation of health care kickbacks.
According to plea documents, Torres-Cruz was a patient recruiter for Florida Home Health Providers Inc., a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.
According to court documents, Florida Home Health billed the Medicare program for expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were medically unnecessary and/or never provided. As a result of Torres-Cruz's participation in the illegal scheme, Medicare was billed approximately $195,000 for purported home health care services that were not medically necessary or not received.
Court documents allege that the medically unnecessary services were prescribed by doctors, including Jose Nunez, M.D. Nunez was charged in a February 2011 indictment along with Torres-Cruz and 19 other co-conspirators.
Seventeen other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty for their roles in the fraud scheme, including Dr. Nunez.
Sentencing has been scheduled for January 20th, 2012.
Torre-Cruz faces up to 15 years in prison.
