PHARMACY OWNER SENTENCED FOR PART D MEDICARE FRAUD
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigation, announce the sentencing of Emilio L. Tain, 42, of Tampa, Florida, for committing health care fraud in connection with E&E Medical Services, doing business as Elbias Pharmacy, located in Hialeah, Florida. On September 1, 2010, the Honorable Judge Paul C. Huck sentenced Tain to a total of 25 months, consisting of 10 months of imprisonment and 15 months of home confinement, and 3 years of supervised release. Judge Huck also ordered that Tain pay restitution in the amount of $70 and a fine of $4,000, and that Tain perform community service after his release.
At his change of plea, Tain admitted that he and his co-conspirators commit health care fraud through Part D of the Medicare program by submitting approximately $776,298 in fraudulent bills to Medicare from March 31, 2010, to April 8, 2010, falsely claiming that Elbias Pharmacy provided prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries. Tain also admitted that he was recruited by his co-conspirator Luis A. Perez Moreira to become a nominal owner of Elbias Pharmacy and to sign paperwork and open bank accounts on behalf of the pharmacy. The fraud was detected early, and Tain and his co-conspirators received only $70 from Medicare.
Part D of the Medicare program subsidizes the costs of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and was enacted as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. Part D went into effect on January 1, 2006.
Co-conspirator Luis A. Perez Moreira was indicted for conspiring to commit health care fraud, but has not yet been apprehended.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney H. Ron Davidson.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
