FLORIDA – The owner and operator of a Miami medical clinic, Merfi Corp., was sentenced this week to nine years in prison for Medicare fraud.
U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro also ordered that Isabel Medina, 49, of Miami, pay more than $8 million as restitution.
Medina acknowledged that her involvement in fraudulent schemes at multiple home health care companies resulted in losses to the Medicare program exceeding $20 million, according to officials.
Through Merfi Corp., authorities said Medina and her co-conspirators provided fraudulent home health and therapy prescriptions to the owners and operators of Flores Home Health Care Inc. and other home health care agencies in return for kickbacks and bribes.
On Jan. 7, 2014, Medina pleaded guilty before Judge Ungaro to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The case was investigated by the FBI as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.
Since 2007, the Strike Force , which is now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,700 defendants who billed the Medicare program for more than $5.5 billion.