Medicare scam nets 30-month prison term

SARASOTA — A former Southwest Florida resident was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his role in what authorities tabbed a $28.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.

The defendant, Roberto Fernandez Gonzalez, 63, was also ordered to forfeit $446,738 and pay the same amount in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's office for the Middle District of Florida, based in Tampa. Fernandez pleaded guilty June 24 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud in the case, which involved several other former Southwest Florida residents. The fraud, in total, also involved multiple outpatient rehab facilities in Florida, including one in Venice and one in Fort Myers.

Authorities contend that from 2005 through 2009 Fernandez and his co-conspirators used physical therapy clinics and other businesses, including Rehab Dynamics in Venice, to submit $28.3 million in fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicare. Medicare paid out about $14.4 million on those claims.

Fernandez's co-conspirators obtained and controlled Rehab Dynamics, prosecutors say. They engaged in a sham sale of Rehab Dynamics to Fernandez, a Cuban immigrant with no background in the health care industry. “Fernandez did not have the money to buy Rehab Dynamics,” a release from the U.S. Attorney's office states. “Instead, the co-conspirators paid Fernandez approximately $20,000 to serve as the straw owner of Rehab Dynamics from January 2008 through March 2008.”

Rehab Dynamics then submitted approximately $1.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare seeking reimbursement for rehabilitation therapy services that were not provided during that time. Medicare, according to authorities, paid $446,738 on those false claims.

The FBI and the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General brought the case against Gonzalez through the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew of the Middle District of Florida sentenced Gonzalez.