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$5.3 Million HIV-Infusion Fraud Scheme Exposed
A shocking $5.3 million HIV-infusion fraud scheme has been brought to light, with the owner of a pharmaceutical wholesale company in Miami pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Harold Sio, the owner and operator of HME Solutions Inc., dba Lifecare Medical, admitted to supplying pharmaceuticals to accomplices Juan A. Marrero and Orlando Pascual Jr. for the purpose of committing Medicare fraud.
According to court documents, Sio provided invoices that documented huge quantities of pharmaceuticals, which were received by Medcore Group LLC, when in fact he only delivered small amounts. The scheme involved paying patients cash kickbacks to induce them to visit the clinic and manipulating patients’ blood samples to make their need for treatment appear legitimate.
Sio, 33, pleaded guilty to the charges before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro in Miami. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2009, while Marrero and Pascual, who pleaded guilty in January 2009 to Medicare fraud, are scheduled for sentencing on April 3, 2009.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF), supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida. Since the inception of MFSF operations, federal prosecutors have indicted 106 cases with 190 defendants in both Los Angeles and Miami, collectively fraudulently billing the Medicare program for more than half a billion dollars.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Chief Kirk Ogrosky, Assistant Chief John S. (Jay) Darden, and Trial Attorney Charles Reed of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General and FBI.
The guilty plea marks a significant blow to the complex web of Medicare fraud schemes that have plagued the healthcare system for years. As the Medicare Fraud Strike Force continues to crack down on these crimes, it is clear that those who seek to exploit the system will face severe consequences.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Sex Crimes|Cybercrime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Human Trafficking|White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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