Vincenzo Rubino, 58, of Valencia, Calif., pleaded guilty to nine counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft in the middle of a federal criminal trial, according to an Aug. 3 Justice Department news release.
Mr. Rubino owned and operated Santa Maria’s Children and Family Center, according to the release. From November 2014 to August 2017, the clinic submitted $5 million in fraudulent claims to the Family PACT program for services that were never provided, often using information from patients who were recruited at off-site locations with offers of free diabetes testing, but who never received the examinations.
Medi-Cal paid more than $2.3 million on the fraudulent claims and another $1.5 million to a pharmacy and laboratory stemming from referrals based on the same services that were never delivered, according to the release.
