Mr. De La Fe owned Miami-based Goldenway Pharmacy Discount. From 2011 to 2013, he conspired with Jose Teijeiro and Michael Gonzalez Cabral, his associates, to illegally bill Medicare. By taking beneficiaries’ ID numbers and forging physicians’ signatures for unnecessary medication, the trio was able to charge Medicare for numerous false claims, some of which were for more than $1,000.
Before heading to Cuba, Mr. De La Fe went to Buffalo, N.Y., and Toronto. He eventually settled in Matanzas after one of his associates told him police planned to arrest him in Miami in 2013.
But on Jan. 8, Mr. De La Fe flew back to Miami with a plane ticket he purchased himself. He turned himself in to U.S. marshals and officers from the Inspector General’s Office immediately.
Sources close to Mr. De La Fe said he returned to the U.S. because he missed his young five-year-old son.
Mr. De La Fe’s bond hearing and arraignment are set for Jan. 15. His co-conspirators, Mr. Teijeiro and Mr. Cabral, pleaded guilty and are serving nine-year and five-year sentences, respectively.
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