Three Miami-area doctors and six others have been charged in four separate indictments for their roles in HIV infusion fraud schemes totaling $56 million, according to the Department of Justice Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Ronald Harris and Enrique Gonzalez are said to have conspired between August 2002 and March 2004 to submit approximately $24.5 million in false and fraudulent claims to the Medicare program for HIV infusion services allegedly provided at Physicians Med-Care and Physicians Health Med-Care, HIV infusion clinics that Harris and Gonzalez operated.
As part of the scheme, authorities say, Gonzalez caused the payment of cash kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for the patients signing documents stating they had received the treatments being billed to Medicare when such treatments were not provided and not medically necessary.
The indictment also alleges that Harris and Gonzalez laundered the proceeds by sending them to a purported medical company that was actually owned and controlled by Harris, Gonzalez and their co-conspirators.
Along with charges of fraud and money laundering, the indictment seeks forfeiture of assets held by Harris and Gonzalez. If convicted, Harris and Gonzalez each face a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
Other indictments include:
- Between May 2003 and January 2004, Juan Carlos Castaneda, Dilcia Marinez and Luis Frias conspired to submit approximately $14 million in false and fraudulent claims to the Medicare program for HIV infusion services allegedly provided at G&S Medical Center, an HIV infusion clinic operated by Castaneda, Marinez and Frias.
- Jose Garcia and Nayda Freire allegedly conspired between April 2003 and November 2003 to submit approximately $10.9 million in false and fraudulent claims to the Medicare program for HIV infusion services allegedly provided at Global Med-Care Corp., an HIV infusion clinic operated by Garcia and Freire.
- Between November 2002 and April 2004, Carlos Contreras, 60, and Ramon Pichardo, 58, conspired to submit approximately $6.8 million in false and fraudulent claims to the Medicare program for HIV infusion services provided at C.N.C. Medical Corp., an HIV infusion clinic at which Contreras and Pichardo were both physicians.