Erika Moscarro and Maria Vasquez, Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, Texas 2015

Houston, Texas - A pair of Houston area women have been sentenced in connection with a scheme that defrauded Medicare and Medicaid of over $500,000.

Erika Moscarro, 37, of Houston, and Maria Vasquez, 59, of Cypress, pleaded guilty on Sept. 22, 2014 and Jan. 22, 2015, respectively, to their roles in the scam.

According to court documents, Vasquez operated Optimum Care EMS, a business that provided ambulance transport to patients on Medicare and Medicaid. Between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2010, Optimum Care EMS received payments from Medicaid and Medicare for ambulance transport services that were not actually provided.

Vasquez and her daughter, Moscarro, provided patients with transportation via van or car, but billed Medicare and Medicaid for ambulance transportation with basic life support, resulting in larger payments.

As a result of the scheme, Medicare and Medicaid incurred a loss of more than $500,000.

Vasquez was sentenced to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay $587,288 in restitution. Her daughter, Moscarro, was previously sentenced to a 12-month term of imprisonment. Both women will also serve three years of supervised release following completion of their prison terms.

The charges were the result of an investigation conducted by the Texas Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney James McAlister prosecuted the case.

Vasquez was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/mother-and-daughter-sentenced-defrauding-united-states-health-care-scheme