June 24, 2009
Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150
Miami-Dade Man Arrested for Defrauding Florida Medicaid Program Out of More Than $44,000
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that a Miami-Dade County man has been arrested for defrauding the Florida Medicaid Program out of more than $44,000. Oscar Gonzalez was arrested today by law enforcement officers with the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
Investigators with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit discovered the fraud while investigating Rehab & Treatment Center, an HIV/AIDS clinic in Miami. Gonzalez, 80, is a partner and investor in the clinic, which was established to provide Medicaid and Medicare recipients with HIV/AIDS infusion/injection services. The investigation revealed that Gonzalez and others were paying Medicaid recipients for the use of their recipient numbers so the clinic could order infusion treatments and bill Medicaid for reimbursements. The investigation also revealed that many of the patients claimed they were never seen by Gonzalez or received treatments. Gonzalez will be charged with one count of organized fraud, a third-degree felony. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. The criminal investigation is ongoing. Jorge Alonso, investor and partner with Gonzalez, was arrested earlier this month and was charged with one count of organized fraud, a third-degree felony.