A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale has convicted a Florida nursing assistant for his role in an US$11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy that targeted Medicare beneficiaries across the United States.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, of Pompano Beach, was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme in which hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were sent thousands of medically unnecessary orthotic braces.
Court documents and evidence presented at trial showed that Cruz owned and operated a Florida-based durable medical equipment (DME) supplier that submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare. Prosecutors said Cruz and a co-conspirator paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to obtain signed doctors’ orders, which were then used to ship orthotic braces to beneficiaries who neither requested nor needed them.
Authorities said Cruz falsely claimed to Medicare that he was the sole owner and operator of the company, concealing the involvement of a co-owner who is a convicted felon. Medicare would not have approved the company’s enrollment had it known of the co-conspirator’s role. That individual has been charged but remains at large.
Investigators also revealed that Cruz received several hundred thousand dollars in proceeds from the fraud, which he frequently withdrew in cash on consecutive days at different bank branches in South Florida, often in amounts just under the US$10,000 reporting threshold.
Cruz was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and make false statements relating to health care matters, and three counts of structuring. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 125 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Officials from the Department of Justice, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) condemned the scheme, describing it as a betrayal of public trust and an exploitation of Medicare beneficiaries.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sterling Paulson of the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Fraud Section.
