MIAMI – In a shocking case of pandemic profiteering, three Florida men have been charged with running a $36 million COVID-19 testing scam that bilked Medicare and other health care programs out of millions.
Enrique Perez-Paris, 47, of Aventura, Florida, and Diego Sanudo Sanchez Chocron, 47, of Venice, California, made their initial appearances today in the U.S. District Court for Southern District of Florida. Gregory Charles \u201cMilo\u201d Caskey, 57, of San Antonio, Texas, made his initial appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, Perez-Paris, Sanchez, and Caskey were owners of Innovative Genomics, an independent laboratory. Between November 2019 and June 2023, the defendants and others allegedly conspired to submit claims for medically unnecessary and non-reimbursable COVID-19 testing. The defendants also allegedly paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters who arranged for health care providers to refer the tests to Innovative Genomics. At times, the defendants allegedly caused the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program to be improperly billed for tests for Medicare beneficiaries. The defendants allegedly further billed for tests that the Food and Drug Administration had not approved for emergency-use authorization.
The defendants are each charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy counts and a maximum penalty of 10 years on each health care fraud count.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen Mahmood of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case. Trial Attorney Reginald Cuyler Jr. of the Criminal Division\u2019s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Lapointe said, \u201cThis case is a stark reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic was not an opportunity for individuals to enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers. The defendants\u2019 scheme was a brazen attempt to profit from a public health crisis, and we will not tolerate such behavior.\u201d
The Justice Department\u2019s Health Care Fraud Strike Force has charged over 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion since March 2007.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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