4 Central Florida residents charged in national crackdown on health care fraud
Four Central Florida residents are among 193 people charged in a $2.7 billion nationwide crackdown on health care fraud announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Nurse practitioner Erin Kim, 54, of Orlando, is accused of prescribing 1.5 million Adderall pills and other stimulants to those who failed to meet criteria or higher doses than necessary and fabricating patient files to do so, according to DOJ.
Her actions were part of a nationwide effort by her employer, California-based telemedicine company Done Health, which instructed its employees to illegally prescribe the pills to its patients, the agency said. Kim was paid over $800,000 by Done Health for the pills. The company CEO also was arrested.
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Kim was indicted Tuesday on two counts of distribution of controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, DOJ said. Her arraignment is scheduled for July 11 at the federal courthouse in Orlando.
According to DOJ, Marques Elijah Green, 29, of Windemere, and Ma Gracia Cadet, 53, of Kissimmee, each individually own two medical equipment companies and are separately accused of attempting to defraud Medicare of $3.4 and $9.3 million, respectively, in equipment reimbursements.
They are accused of bribing employees at telemedicine companies for signed physician orders for medical equipment, the agency said.
Green and Cadet were charged Tuesday and signed plea agreements to plead guilty to one charge of attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, DOJ said. Green’s first appearance is scheduled for July 9 and Cadet’s is scheduled for Aug.13 at the federal courthouse in Orlando.
The agency said Eric Brewer, 28, a registered nurse from Lakeland, is accused of stealing fentanyl from several Tampa-area hospitals where he worked in intensive care units and injecting himself in hospital bathrooms while on duty.
In addition to checking out fentanyl from storerooms ostensibly for patients, DOJ said he sometimes entered patient rooms and siphoned fentanyl from their IV bags.
Brewer was indicted Wednesday on six counts of attempting to tamper with a consumer product and seven counts of acquiring a controlled substance by misrepresentation.
DOJ said the 193 defendants include 76 doctors, nurse practitioners and other licensed medical professionals.
