GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – A five-week jury trial has concluded with Ona M. Colasante, 59, a physician from Gainesville, Florida, convicted of 162 counts of health care fraud.
Colasante owned and operated medical businesses known as the Hawthorne Medical Center in Hawthorne, Florida, between 1998 and March 2009, and the Colasante Clinic in Gainesville, Florida, between January 2010 and January 2013.
Through these businesses, Colasante defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida through a series of false billing schemes. The evidence showed that Colasante, and employees acting at her direction, ordered non-FDA approved drugs at a drastically reduced price, administered them to unsuspecting patients, and then fraudulently billed insurance companies for the cost of FDA-approved drugs.
In addition, Colasante billed insurance companies for medically unnecessary tests and submitted false diagnosis codes in support of her fraudulent claims for reimbursement. The evidence also revealed that Colasante billed insurance companies for counseling, treatment, and training that was never performed, and repeatedly submitted fraudulent billings for smoking-cessation treatment purportedly administered to patients who were non-smokers.
Colasante faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the counts of conviction. Sentencing is scheduled for July 25, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at the United States Courthouse in Gainesville, Florida.
United States Attorney Christopher P. Canova praised the work of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the United States Food and Drug Administration, whose joint investigation led to the convictions in this case.
“Health care programs and patients depend on ethical practices from medical providers,” said United States Attorney Canova. “I commend the diligent investigators and prosecutors who uphold our federal laws and bring to justice those who abuse their positions of trust.”
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Gregory Wayne, Health Care Fraud, Conspiracy to Violate Narcotics Laws, Florida 2014 · Florida
- Francisco Enrique Chavez, Health Care Fraud, Florida 2013 · Florida
- Darrell A. Hall, Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Health Care Fraud, Tax Evasion, Ohio 2009 · Florida
- Orlando Pascual Jr., Medicare Fraud, Florida 2023 · Florida
- Juan A. Tony Marrero, Medicare Fraud Scheme, Florida 2023 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Health Care Fraud|White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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