Karen Curet-Nieves, a former Program Technician at the Programa de Asistencia Médica in Santurce, Puerto Rico, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on February 22, 2018, for her role in a brazen bribery and health care fraud scheme. District Judge Pedro A. Delgado handed down the sentence, which also includes two years of supervised release, $20,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and 100 hours of community service. Curet-Nieves admitted to selling access to Mi Salud benefits like a black-market vendor, approving twenty to thirty unqualified applicants per week—for $10 a head.
From July 2014 through October 2015, Curet-Nieves exploited her position to bypass eligibility checks, falsify data entries into the Medicaid Integrated Technology Initiative (MEDITI) system, and rubber-stamp coverage for individuals who paid cash bribes. She never interviewed applicants, never verified income or residency—just took the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses handed off by co-conspirators and punched them into the system. Each approval siphoned federal funds to Managed Care Organizations for monthly premiums and medical services never rightfully earned.
Curet-Nieves pleaded guilty to three federal counts: bribery under 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(1)(B), conspiracy to commit health care fraud under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1347 and 1349, and aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A. Her crimes were part of a wider conspiracy that reached deep into the Santurce office, implicating fellow technicians and a network of street-level “runners” who funneled fake applicants into the system for profit.
Luis González-Cordova, a clerk at the same office, pled guilty on August 25, 2016, to identical charges and was sentenced on May 26, 2017, to 24 months and one day in prison. He too must pay $20,000 in restitution. Orlando Negrón-Bonilla, another program technician, pled guilty to aggravated identity theft on November 9, 2016, and was sentenced on March 17, 2017, to 24 months behind bars and the same $20,000 restitution order.
The remaining five defendants—Ruben Escalera-Rivera, Perfecto De León-Toribio, Luis Caceres-De León, Luis Ángel García-Rosa, and Andrea Jiménez-De Jesús—acted as the underground recruiters, or “runners,” who scouted individuals desperate for health coverage and sold them a backdoor pass. They collected cash, passed it to González-Cordova, and delivered stolen personal data to grease the wheels of fraud. Each pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, a felony under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1347 and 1349.
The case was brought by Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, as part of a broader crackdown on corruption within public health programs. The Mi Salud scheme didn’t just defraud taxpayers—it endangered the integrity of a lifeline program meant for the most vulnerable. Curet-Nieves and her accomplices turned a public service into a criminal enterprise, one $10 bribe at a time.
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Key Facts
- State: Puerto Rico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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