Miami Psychiatrist Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding US Government
A Miami-Dade psychiatrist has been sentenced to 151 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the US government out of millions of dollars.
Fernando Mendez Villamil, 48, of South Miami, was sentenced by United States District Judge Frederico A. Moreno on [None specified] for his participation in various schemes to defraud the US government. Villamil was also ordered to pay $50,697,081 in restitution.
According to court documents, Villamil conspired with Maritza Exposito, 57, and Yomara Vila, 45, both of Miami, and Arnaldo O Jimenez, of Hialeah, to provide false and fraudulent mental health diagnoses to thousands of individuals seeking to obtain disability benefits and waivers from the civic and language requirements of the US citizenship and naturalization process. Villamil did so in exchange for bribes and kickback payments and the ability to submit false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for medication management visits that were not needed and were not provided.
Villamil’s three co-conspirators previously pled guilty and were sentenced for their conduct. Maritza Exposito was sentenced on May 13, 2016 to 48 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $33,551,022 in restitution. Yomara Vila was sentenced on May 10, 2016 to 33 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $502,626 in restitution. Arnaldo Jimenez, who pled guilty to providing false statements to the Social Security Administration, in his own disability benefit determination process, was sentenced to 6 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $248,211 in restitution.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Hagerenesh Simmons.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Healthcare Fraud|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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