Lab Owners Charged in $36M COVID-19 Testing Scam

MIAMI – In a brazen scheme that bilked Medicare out of $36 million, three lab owners have been charged with running a COVID-19 testing scam that spanned three years and two states.

Enrique Perez-Paris, 47, of Aventura, Florida, and Diego Sanudo Sanchez Chocron, 47, of Venice, California, made their initial appearances today in the U.S. District Court for Southern District of Florida, while Gregory Charles ‘Milo’ Caskey, 57, of San Antonio, Texas, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

According to court documents, Perez-Paris, Sanchez, and Caskey were owners of Innovative Genomics, an independent laboratory, which allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims for COVID-19 testing to Medicare and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program between November 2019 and June 2023.

The defendants allegedly paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters who arranged for health care providers to refer the tests to Innovative Genomics, and in some cases, billed the HRSA program for tests performed on Medicare beneficiaries. The Food and Drug Administration had not approved some of the tests for emergency-use authorization.

The defendants are each charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, three counts of health care fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the conspiracy counts and a maximum penalty of 10 years on each health care fraud count.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, and other officials made the announcement, which marks another major victory in the fight against COVID-19-related healthcare fraud. The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Reginald Cuyler Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon handling asset forfeiture. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat healthcare fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, which has charged over 5,400 defendants who have collectively billed federal healthcare programs and private insurers over $27 billion since 2007.

RELATED: Fresno Felon Back Behind Bars: 12 Years for ‘Ghost Gun’

RELATED: Mobile Man Sentenced for Illegally Possessing Firearm