FLORIDA – A Miami owner of a home health care company pleaded guilty Friday for his role in connection with a $32 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Felix Gonzalez, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams scheduled sentencing for March.
Around January 2006 through March 2009, AA Advanced submitted approximately $32 million in claims for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided, and Medicare paid approximately $22 million for these fraudulent claims, officials said.
According to his plea documents, Gonzalez was an owner of AA Advanced Care Inc., a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.
Gonzalez admitted that he and his co-conspirators operated AA Advanced for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or not provided at all.
Gonzalez further admitted that he negotiated and paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals, as well as prescriptions, plans of care and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services for Medicare beneficiaries.
Gonzalez also stated that he and his co-conspirators used these prescriptions, plans of care and medical certifications to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services.