FLORIDA
A Miami man pleaded guilty today to charges related to his role in a $4.2 million home health care fraud scheme.
Ramon Collado Gonzalez, 56, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government and making false statements in connection with a federal health care benefit program.
He will be sentenced Oct. 24, according to officials.
As part of his guilty plea, Collado Gonzalez admitted that around March 2014, he was recruited by Mildrey Gonzalez and Milka Alfaro, the owners of Golden Home Health Care Inc. (Golden), a home health care agency in Miami. He was to falsely represent himself as Golden’s owner.
Collado Gonzalez further admitted that in return for hiding Mildrey Gonzalez’s and Alfaro’s ownership interests, he received a monthly payment and periodic bonuses from them. He didn’t do any actual work for Golden, according to officials.
Instead, he said he signed Medicare applications and other documents for the purpose of submitting claims to Medicare and concealing Mildrey Gonzalez’s and Alfaro’s ownership interests. Golden also received about $4.2 million from Medicare.
In June, Mildrey Gonzalez and Alfaro were separately charged in an indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the federal government and pay health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering, among other charges.
Gonzalez and Alfaro are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.