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Nery Cowan, 53, Sentenced to 135 Months in Prison for Role in $63 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
Nery Cowan, a former health care clinic consultant and Medicare biller, was sentenced to 135 months in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine for her role in laundering money in connection with a $63 million health care fraud scheme involving a now-defunct Miami health provider.
Cowan, of Miami, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on Jan. 14, 2016.
According to court documents, Cowan admitted to serving as a consultant and Medicare biller for Greater Miami Behavioral Healthcare Center Inc. (Greater Miami), a partial hospitalization program located in Miami, which purported to provide intensive treatment for the severely mentally ill. During the course of the scheme, Cowan directed and authorized the payment of kickbacks and bribes to patient brokers and others in exchange for Medicare beneficiary referrals, she admitted.
Cowan also admitted that Greater Miami personnel routinely falsified medical records affiliated with these recruited Medicare beneficiaries to support false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. She received a percentage of the Medicare reimbursement from Greater Miami’s PHP as compensation, she admitted.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Assistant Chief Allan J. Medina and Trial Attorney Elizabeth Young of the Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.
Nery Cowan, Defendant: 53, Miami, Florida
Criminal Charge: Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Date: Jan. 14, 2016
Sentence: 135 months in prison, $100,000 fine
Dollar Amount: $63 million
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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