Florida Man Pleads Guilty to $42 Million Medicare Fraud; Proceeds Bought a Yacht Worth Over $600,000
Tarpon Springs, Florida — Chad Monroe, 48, of Tarpon Springs, in Pinellas County, Florida, pleaded guilty on November 13 to a $42 million fraud on Medicare, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the same day. Monroe also pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Monroe conspired with others to submit fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment (DME), such as knee, wrist, ankle, and back braces, and cancer genetic testing that Medicare beneficiaries did not want or need. Monroe and his co-conspirators opened three DME companies, Maksix Medical Products Inc., Orthotech Atlanta, LLC, and 1st Choice Medical Supply LLC, which they used to submit over $26 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans, and TRICARE.
The Justice Department said Monroe directed co-conspirators to lie on Medicare enrollment documents to hide his ownership of and role at the companies. To generate doctors' orders for the equipment and genetic testing, Monroe paid illegal kickbacks to purported telemedicine companies. Through his company Health and Life Networking LLC, Monroe also sold doctors' orders for genetic testing to co-conspirator laboratories, which paid him over $15 million in illegal kickbacks.
Monroe also directed a co-conspirator to submit a fraudulent PPP loan application for over $30,000 for 1st Choice Medical Supply LLC, lying about, among other things, the company's ownership to qualify for the loan.
The Justice Department said Monroe used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing a 47-foot yacht valued at over $600,000 called "The Rogue Shark," a Cadillac Escalade, and other luxury vehicles. In connection with the charges, the government seized the yacht and more than $1 million.
Monroe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. A sentencing date has not been set. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the health care fraud conspiracy count and 30 years on the wire fraud count, with the sentence to be determined by a federal district court judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division, HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Special Agent in Charge Isaac M. Bledsoe, and FBI Tampa Field Office Special Agent in Charge Rodney Crawford, among other officials. HHS-OIG, the FBI, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) investigated the case, and the National Fraud Enforcement Division's Health Care Fraud Section is prosecuting it.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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