Federal officials launched a massive crackdown on health care fraud across the country, targeting 601 people blamed for $2 billion in fraud losses.
According to The Tampa Bay Business Journal, several area doctors were among those targeted:
- Charles Gerardi is accused of billing Medicare for unnecessary psychotherapy and billing for psychotherapy when he was actually performing medication management.
- Zachary Bird is accused of distributing and dispensing a controlled substance for a not-legitimate purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice.
- Jeffrey Abraham pleaded guilty to distribution of controlled substances not specified by his registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
- Thomas Carpenter, who was medical director at Foundational Health, a Tampa area clinic, and Caridad Limberg-Gonzalez, who owned the clinic, are charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, four counts of health care fraud and three counts of making false statements.
In the Middle District of Florida, 21 individuals were charged with participating in a variety of schemes involving more than $21 million in fraudulent billings. In one case, a physician and clinic owner were charged with conspiring to defraud Medicare of more than $2.8 million in fraudulent home health billings.
In the Southern District of Florida, 124 people were charged with offenses relating to their participation in various fraud schemes involving more than $337 million in false billings for services including home health care and pharmacy fraud.
In one case, an owner, medical director, and two employees of a sober living facility were charged with conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, substantive counts of health care fraud, and substantive counts of money laundering.
The defendants allegedly recruited patients, paid kickbacks, and defrauded health care benefit programs for widespread fraudulent urine testing. Federal authorities said during the course of the fraudulent scheme, the facility allegedly submitted more than $106 million in claims for substance abuse treatment services.
For more, read the Tampa Bay Business Journal report.
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