RIVERSIDE, California – Robert Eyzaguirre, 77, of Torrance, has pleaded guilty to submitting millions of dollars’ worth of false claims to a Medi-Cal health care program, causing over $2.5 million in losses.
Eyzaguirre, the owner and sole physician at Dr. Robert’s Medical Center in Bellflower, was charged with one count of healthcare fraud, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
According to his plea agreement, Eyzaguirre conspired with Gary Lee Didio, 54, of Huntington Beach, and Sandra Rios, 51, of South Los Angeles, to submit over $4.6 million in fraudulent claims to the Family PACT program for family planning services that were never provided.
Rios created fake patient files, including inserting fake vital signs and patient notes, and Eyzaguirre signed the files, falsely representing that he had provided family planning services to those patients.
The fake patient files were submitted to the Family PACT program for reimbursement, resulting in over $2.5 million in payments from Medi-Cal.
Eyzaguirre also attempted to conceal the criminal activity by instructing Didio to remove the fake patient files and hide them offsite, and then attempted to shred the files to prevent law enforcement from discovering them.
Rios and Didio have pleaded guilty to conspiring to receive illegal remunerations for healthcare referrals and are expected to be sentenced in the coming months.
Eyzaguirre is scheduled to be sentenced on October 28 by United States District Judge Jesus G. Bernal.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the California Department of Justice, Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jason C. Pang of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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