Final Defendant Sentenced in $80 Million Health Care Fraud Conspiracy

A Florida man was sentenced today to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud.

Alberto Orian Gonzalez-Delgado, 46, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud on March 4. Gonzalez-Delgado is the last remaining defendant in this case to be sentenced. Eduardo Rubal, 41, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 210 months; Vicente Gonzalez Acosta, 50, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 188 months; Alexander Fernandez, 49, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 120 months; Yaxing Tapanes, 24, of Hialeah, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 97 months; Jose Carlos Valladares Rivera, 43, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced to 97 months; Hector Suarez Gonzalez, 45, of Hialeah, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 78 months; Antonio Jimenez, 54, of Hialeah, was sentenced to 48 months.

According to court documents, these eight individuals and their co-conspirators operated a fraud and money laundering organization responsible for executing a series of frauds in Florida and Michigan through which they billed Medicare for over $80 million, actually receiving approximately $53 million for fraudulent claims. 

The organization recruited and directed nominee owners to fraudulently purchase home health agencies, as well as to open sham corporations in their names, along with corresponding personal and corporate bank accounts. After the acquisition of the home health agency was completed, the group began fraudulently billing Medicare for services that were never provided. The home health agencies had no medical staff and provided no services to any beneficiaries. The group, upon receiving the Medicare money, would funnel that through several layers of shell companies and bank accounts in an effort to launder the money before converting it to cash at ATMs and check cashing stores in Miami. Once the nominee owners completed their work, the group required them to permanently move to Cuba to avoid detection and live beyond the jurisdiction of the United States.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division made the announcement.

The FBI and Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General investigated the case, with assistance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Center for Program Integrity.

Trial Attorney Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.