GRIMY TIMES EXCLUSIVE: A Fresno County podiatrist and his sales representative have been slammed with serious charges after they were caught in a web of deceit involving false Medicare claims for skin grafts.
Felipe Ruiz, 51, of Fresno, and Jose Gabriel Aguirre, 52, from Clovis, both pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, Ruiz was the podiatrist at West Coast Podiatry Inc., a practice with locations in Fresno, Madera, and Stanislaus Counties. Aguirre, on the other hand, was the salesman who sold skin grafts to Ruiz and his clinic.
Between June 2021 and January 2024, Ruiz bought skin grafts from Aguirre, allowing Aguirre, an unlicensed healthcare provider, to perform the procedures on Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The duo then submitted claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal, falsely stating that Ruiz had performed the services himself when it was actually Aguirre who did the work.
This deception resulted in Medicare and Medi-Cal paying out for false claims, which Ruiz then paid back to Aguirre. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany M. Gunter is handling the prosecution of this case, which has been jointly investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Ruiz and Aguirre are now facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. They are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on January 20, 2026. The actual sentence will be determined at the court’s discretion.
This sordid tale of medical malfeasance serves as a stark reminder of the lengths some individuals will go to defraud the healthcare system for personal gain. Stay tuned to GRIMY TIMES for ongoing coverage of this case and its repercussions.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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