Pat Truglia, Health Care Fraud, New Jersey 2024

A Florida man has been sentenced to 120 months in prison for his role in a $50 million health care fraud and kickback scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Pat Truglia, 54, of Parkland, Florida, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court, Truglia and his conspirators had financial interests in multiple durable medical equipment (DME) companies. The DME companies paid kickbacks to suppliers of DME orders, including co-defendants Nicholas Defonte and Christopher Cirri, in exchange for DME orders, which the DME companies subsequently fraudulently billed to Medicare, TRICARE, CHAMPVA, and other health care benefit programs.

Truglia and his conspirators concealed their ownership of the DME companies by using straw owners who were falsely reported to Medicare as the owners of the companies.

The defendants caused losses to Medicare, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA of approximately $50 million.

In addition to the prison term, Judge McNulty sentenced Truglia to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $33,777,799.67 and forfeiture of $9,477,925.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Sherman, Senior Trial Counsel Barbara Ward, and Trial Attorney Darren Halverson.

Defense counsel for Truglia is Bernard M. Cassidy Esq. of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Defendant’s details: Pat Truglia, Conspiracy to commit health care fraud, Newark, New Jersey, 04/24/2024, 10 years in prison, 3 years supervised release, $33,777,799.67 restitution, $9,477,925 forfeiture.

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