Co-conspiring family members sentenced in Miami pharmacy fraud scheme
Co-conspirators used proceeds to buy luxury cars and fund businesses, Department of Justice said.
Sentencing continues for family members involved in a Medicare Part D fraud scheme that bilked the system for more than $20 million and saw its perpetrators using the funds to buy luxury cars and fund other businesses, said the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida.
Eight additional co-conspirators, whom the FBI said were family members of Daniel Suarez, have been sentenced to prison as well as ordered to pay restitution for their roles in the multi-million dollar operation involving a number of Miami-area pharmacies, some of which were co-owned by family members, including Suarez.
According to the FBI, Maria Echarri, 41, of North Miami Beach, Angelina Gonzalez, 38, of Miami, Odalys del Carmen Borrego, 47, of Miami, Oslay Borrego Alarcon, 44, of Miami, were each sentenced to nine years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and were ordered to pay $20,988,632 in restitution.
Additionally, Victor Manuel Ron, 30, of Homestead, was sentenced to almost six years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Ron has a previous conviction for staging car accidents and defrauding insurance companies. His wife, Evelyn Parrado, 28, of Homestead, was sentenced to five years of probation with one year of home confinement. Ron and Parrado were ordered to pay $1,185,722 in restitution.
Finally, Enemisis Torres, 48, of Miami, was sentenced to a little more than four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Aimee Geada, 39, of Miami, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
[Also: Pharmacy owner sentenced over $20 million Medicare fraud, spent cash on Rolls Royce, Bentley]
The FBI said Suarez, Echarri, Gonzalez, Borrego, and Alarcon controlled nine pharmacies that submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare that stemmed from written prescriptions "when, in fact, such items were not properly prescribed or actually provided to Medicare beneficiaries." The five submitted more than $20 million in false claims. Evelyn Parrado posed as record owner of a pharmacy, which was used to submit more than a $1 million in false claims.
Torres owned a Miami clinic where he and Geada both worked. Authorities said the two forged or altered prescriptions used at the pharmacies, and Torres "caused the submission" of millions in false claims. Geada caused the submission of at least $500,000 in false claims, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office said.
The scheme involved the use of recruiters who received kickbacks for referring Medicare Part D beneficiaries to the pharmacies the co-conspirators controlled. Suarez, Echarri, Gonzalez, Borrego, and Alarcon used the money gleaned from the illegal operation to buy a number of luxury cars including a Rolls Royce Ghost, Bentley, Range Rover and Mercedes Benz S63 AMG. Ron and Parrado used their proceeds to fund additional businesses, Spectrum Aesthetics Center for Cosmetic Surgery and Spectrum Management of Florida, the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office said.
Twitter: @BethJSanborn
