A Detroit-area clinic owner has been sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a $9.1 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Joaquin Tasis, the owner of Dearborn Medical Rehabilitation Center (DMRC), was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow in the Eastern District of Michigan.
In addition to his prison term, Tasis was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $6 million in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-defendants.
Tasis was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks and three counts of health care fraud.
The scheme, which took place between November 2005 and March 2007, involved recruiting Medicare beneficiaries to come to the clinic through the payment of cash kickbacks.
DMRC then billed Medicare for expensive and exotic medications, purportedly administered to treat HIV and Hepatitis-C. However, the medications were never administered.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division praised the sentence, saying it ‘sends a strong message to those who would seek to exploit our healthcare system for personal gain.’
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Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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