LOS ANGELES, California – A former healthcare executive has been sentenced to over 10 years in prison for running a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud Medi-Cal, a healthcare program for low-income Californians.
Vincenzo Rubino, 59, of Valencia, was sentenced to 124 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II. Rubino was also ordered to pay $3,815,478 in restitution and entered a money judgment of $2,308,028.
Rubino pleaded guilty in August 2023 to nine counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. He founded, owned and operated Santa Maria’s Children and Family Center, a Whittier-based medical clinic registered as a non-profit public benefit corporation and enrolled as a Family Planning, Access, Care and Treatment (Family PACT) provider run through Medi-Cal.
Between November 2014 and August 2017, the center submitted fraudulent claims totaling nearly $5 million to the Family PACT program for family planning services that were never provided. Rubino often used the information of patients who were recruited at off-site locations with offers of free diabetes testing.
To submit many of these claims, Rubino used the names of two medical providers who were not employed at Santa Maria’s. The patients did not see these providers – a physician’s assistant and an elderly doctor who was himself a patient in a skilled nursing facility during much of the scheme.
The Medi-Cal program paid more than $2.3 million on the fraudulent claims, as well as an additional approximately $1.5 million to a pharmacy and laboratory for claims stemming from referrals from Santa Maria based on the same services that were never delivered.
“This defendant took advantage of health-care services intended for people in need,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Instead of allowing that money to go where it was intended, Rubino stole millions of dollars through sham claims to Medi-Cal for family planning services that either were unnecessary or unprovided. Today’s sentence highlights my office’s resolve to protect the most vulnerable in our community.”
Rubino’s scheme was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the California Department of Justice. Assistant United States Attorneys Kristen A. Williams of the Major Frauds Section and David H. Chao of the General Crimes Section prosecuted the case.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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