A Miami woman has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for her role in a $74 million conspiracy to defraud the Medicare program. Sila Luis, 59, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke of the Southern District of Florida on [date].
Luis, the owner and operator of two defunct Miami home health agencies, LTC Professional Consultants Inc. (LTC) and Professional Home Care Solutions Inc., pleaded guilty on June 28 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to the indictment, Luis and her co-conspirators agreed to, and actually did, operate LTC in order to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services, including diabetic injections, skilled nursing visits, physical therapy, and other treatments and services.
Luis admitted that she and her co-conspirators enlisted and paid patient recruiters kickbacks and bribes in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries to LTC. Had Medicare known that Luis paid bribes and kickbacks to attract beneficiaries to her facilities, Medicare would not have paid any claims submitted on behalf of those beneficiaries.
Judge Cooke determined at sentencing that Luis was responsible for an intended loss of $74 million to the Medicare program. Luis was ordered to pay $45 million in restitution and to forfeit the gross proceeds traced to the offense.
Elsa Ruiz, 49, and Myriam Acevedo, 68, both of Miami, Florida, were also charged in an indictment returned on Oct. 3, 2012. Acevedo pleaded guilty in May 2013 to conspiracy to pay health care kickbacks and payment of kickbacks in connection with a federal health care benefit program. She was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay $27 million in restitution. Ruiz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She was sentenced to 80 months in prison and ordered to pay $45 million in restitution.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated this case. Trial Attorneys David Snider, Patrick Mott, and L. Rush Atkinson of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the government and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.
The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has jurisdiction over the case. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at or on .
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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