MIAMI DME OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO MEDICARE FRAUD

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Division, announced that on March 18, 2008 defendant Leonardo Pita pled guilty to one count of health care fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1347, and money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956. Pita faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 28, 2008 before U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan.

According to the Indictment and the factual proffer read in open court during the plea, Pita was the president of L&L Medical Supply Corp., a durable medical equipment (DME) company based in Miami-Dade County. From April 2003 through May of 2004, the defendant orchestrated a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting claims to Medicare for services and equipment that were not, in fact, rendered to Medicare beneficiaries. During the course of the scheme, approximately $1 million in false claims were submitted, of which Medicare paid $519,000.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Bernstein.
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.