Local News

Patient Recruiter Guilty In $205M Medicare Fraud

/ CBS Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — A South Florida man pleaded guilty in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Former Network Resource Consultant Inc. chief Michael Mendoza  pleaded guilty to health fraud conspiracy Thursday, June 19th in Miami federal court.

Mendoza faces a maximum of 10 years in prison at sentencing in August.

Court documents show Mendoza recruited patients for now-defunct American Therapeutic Corp. Mendoza agreed with ATC owner Lawrence Duran to refer people in assisted living facilities to ATC in exchange for payments. The referrals were for unnecessary or not provided mental health services.

Prosecutors say more than $430,000 in false Medicare claims were submitted based on Mendoza's referrals.

Duran, one of many people convicted in the ATC scam, is serving 50 years in prison.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

RELATED CONTENT:

First published on June 20, 2014 / 9:22 AM EDT

© 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.