Two Florida residents were sentenced to prison after being convicted for their roles in a scheme that billed Medicare $93 million for home health therapy services that were never performed.
Karel Felipe, 42, of Miami Shores, and Tamara Quicutis, 54, of Hialeah, conspired with others to submit false bills to Medicare for three home health companies located in Michigan, according to a Jan. 5 Justice Department news release.
Their co-conspirators recruited individuals to sign Medicare enrollment documents and appear as the owners of the home health agencies to conceal the identities of Mr. Felipe, Ms. Quicutis and others involved in the scheme, according to the release. They used these home health companies to submit claims for services that were not rendered using lists of stolen patient names.
Mr. Felipe, Ms. Quicutis and others used dozens of shell companies and hundreds of bank accounts to launder the Medicare fraud proceeds and convert the proceeds into cash at Miami-area ATMs and check cashing stores, according to the release.
Mr. Felipe was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison and Ms. Quicutis was sentenced to five years and 10 months, according to the release. Four other Florida residents were previously sentenced for their roles in the scheme.