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Durable Medical Equipment Company Owner Sentenced in Medicare Fraud Scheme
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Christopher Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, announced that defendant Eduardo Batista Barquin, 38, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro to a term of 63 months’ imprisonment. The court also ordered restitution in the amount of $233,203, which represented the amount of Medicare funds misappropriated by the defendant. The defendant had previously been convicted at trial on four counts of health care fraud.
According to the Indictment and evidence admitted at trial, defendant Batista controlled and operated America Medical Services & Supplies, Inc. (“America Medical”), a company that purported to provide durable medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries. America Medical was located at 6850 Coral Way, Suite 207, Miami, FL. From February 2003 through March 2004, Batista, as President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Registered Agent of America Medical, caused the submission of approximately $3,485,144 in false claims to Medicare for reimbursement for the cost of DME items and services. In fact, however, the services had not been prescribed by doctors nor provided as claimed. Defendant Batista came to the government’s attention during the investigation of All-Med Billing Corp.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General. This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Clark.
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 www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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