Ten Miami-Dade assisted living facility owners are facing federal charges in a sweeping health care fraud and kickback scheme that exploited vulnerable seniors and defrauded Medicare and Florida Medicaid. The defendants—Marlene Marrero, 60, of Miami; Blanca Orozco, 69, of Miramar; Norma Casanova, 67, of Miami Lakes; Yeny De Erbiti, 51, of Miami; Rene Vega, 57, of Miami; Maribel Galvan, 43, of Miami Lakes; Dianelys Perez, 34, of Miami Gardens; Osniel Vera, 47, of Hialeah; Alicia Almeida, 56, of Miami Lakes; and Jorge Rodriguez, 57, of Hialeah—were named in a 30-count indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The indictment alleges the defendants accepted cash kickbacks and bribes in exchange for steering residents of their facilities to Florida Pharmacy Inc., a now-defunct Miami-Dade pharmacy owned by an unindicted co-conspirator. The pharmacy billed Medicare and Medicaid for prescription medications and durable medical equipment that were either unnecessary or never delivered. In return, the assisted living owners lined their pockets with illicit payments funneled through the scheme.
Each defendant is also charged with health care fraud for submitting falsified Non-Institutional Medicaid Provider Agreements. These documents falsely claimed compliance with federal and state laws—including the explicit ban on kickbacks outlined in the Florida Medicaid Provider Handbook. By submitting these fraudulent agreements, the defendants secured the renewal of their Medicaid provider numbers, enabling them to keep billing the program for services never lawfully rendered.
As a result of the scheme, Medicaid dispensed payments to the defendants’ facilities based on false claims, draining taxpayer-funded programs meant to protect the elderly and disabled. Investigators say the conspiracy was built on deception at every level—from forged paperwork to coordinated patient referrals—all designed to cash in on government benefits meant for care, not crime.
“We will not allow anyone to take advantage of seniors to defraud the Medicaid program,” declared Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer added, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners remain committed to prosecuting members of the South Florida assisted living community who fraudulently use the Medicare and Medicaid benefits of their residents to obtain illegal bribes and kickbacks.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the State of Florida’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagerenesh Simmons as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. An indictment is not a conviction—each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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