Joaquin Mendez, Health Care Fraud, Florida 2017

A doctor from Miramar, Florida, has pleaded guilty to his participation in a multi-million dollar health care fraud and money laundering scheme that involved the filing of fraudulent insurance claim forms and defrauded health care benefit programs.

Joaquin Mendez, 52, of Miramar, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1347; all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

The scheme involved sober homes and alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers, where defendants referred residents to treatment centers and billed insurance companies for medically unnecessary tests. Mendez, as a medical director, signed doctor's orders for urine drug tests and certificates of medical necessity for saliva drug tests, despite never seeing some of the patients.

Mendez faces a maximum of ten years' imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for September 27, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.

The scheme, which involved millions of dollars, was led by co-defendants Kenneth Chatman, Fransesia Davis, and Michael Bonds, who established sober homes and treatment centers in the business of providing safe and drug-free residences for individuals suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.

Defendant Mendez's guilty plea follows an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and other agencies. Mendez's participation in the scheme has been acknowledged, and he is set to be sentenced in September 2017.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/doctor-pleads-guilty-multi-million-dollar-health-care-fraud-and-money-laundering-scheme