Posted on 12/05/2001 9:59:29 PM PST by 4Freedom
Two more employees of a durable medical equipment company in Yauco were brought Wednesday before a federal magistrate to face conspiracy, kickback and money laundering charges in an alleged scheme to defraud $1.6 million from Medicare.
Hildred Mattei Franceschini, a treasurer at Centros Equipos Medicos, and employee Arabella Colon Negron were named in a 17-count superceding indictment that was handed down last week.
The two women were indicted along with company president and owner Ignacio Pintado, and coordinators Rocio Semidy Roman and Nayda Garcia appeared before U.S. Magistrate Justo Arenas on Tuesday while Semidy is to appear next week.
In September, Mattei Franceschini, Semidy and Colon Negron were indicted on conspiracy charges related to the same case.
According to the indictment, Centro Equipos Medcos paid kickbacks to physicians who would refer Medicare patients to the company. The doctors were referred to as "el sepo."
At least six witnesses who were remunerated are cooperating with the investigation.
Garcia would deliver cash to these persons for the Medicare referrals, prosecutors alleged.
At least $1.6 million was laundered through the transfer of money from different accounts held by Pintado, the indictment stated.
Earlier this year, the owner of another medical supply company in Levittown pleaded guilty to conspiracy and four counts of illegal financial transactions in exchange for a four-year sentence.
Efrain Sierra Pujols, 31, who owns Inter Medical Hospital Supply, was charged with defrauding Medicare of more than $450,000.
Sierra Pujols, who was originally charged with more than 50 counts in a superceding indictment, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and four counts of illegal financial transactions.
Prosecutors claim that Sierra paid kickbacks to doctors and others who would refer them to his durable medical supply company. Prosecutors said as much as $140,000 was transferred from one account he had at RG Premier Bank to Banco Santander in which the kickbacks were paid.
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Recall that the largest single contribution to former President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign, $250,000, came from the owner of a single hospital that sees mainly Medicare patients.
There's $4 or more billion U.S. Taxpayer's Medicare Dollar$ sent to Puerto Rico, every year, for the taking.
I think the secret to not getting caught is knowing whose campaign to contribute to.
>sarcasm<
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