The United States Attorney's Office Southern District of Florida Public Affairs Office: Alicia Valle Yovanny Lopez Public Affairs Fax MIAMI DME OWNER SENTENCED ON CHARGES OF MEDICARE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERINGMay 28, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced defendant Leonardo Pita was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay $519,305 in restitution. According to the Indictment and the factual proffer read in open court at the time of the plea, Pita was the president of L&L Medical Supply Corp., a durable medical equipment company (DME) based in Miami-Dade county, which purported to supply DME to Medicare beneficiaries. From April 2003 through May 2004, the defendant orchestrated a scheme to defraud Medicare by submitting claims for services and equipment that were not, in fact, rendered to Medicare beneficiaries. Approximately $1,357,540 in false claims were submitted to Medicare, resulting in Medicare payments to L&L Medical in the amount of $519,305. Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office. 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.
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