Home Health & Hospice Week

One of the home care nurses indicted in the Medicare Fraud Strike Force's massive February "takedown" of various fraud enterprises has been convicted.

The original indictment alleged that Armando Santos, a registered nurse, caused a local home health agency to submit $230,315 in false claims to Medicare, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation release. The indictment further alleged that Santos and his conspirators caused the payment of kickbacks and bribes to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for using their Medicare numbers on claims.

On May 26, a federal jury in Miami found Santos guilty of fraud for billing for administering insulin to patients who were not insulin-dependent or homebound, according to a Department of Justice release.

And another Miami nurse also was convicted for health care fraud related to diabetic home care patients. Isachi Gil, an RN employed by 13 separate Miami-Dade-based home health agencies, also billed for administering insulin to patients who were not insulin-dependent or homebound. And Gil was in Panama, Mexico, or the Dominican Republic during dates that she claimed to be providing visits to Medicare beneficiaries, prosecutors said. Plus, Gil signed dozens of documents claiming that she was providing skilled nursing services when she was attending classes at Florida International University. She also claimed to be providing skilled nursing visits to two and three patients simultaneously, double and triple billing Medicare, the DOJ says in a release.

Both nurses worked for Ideal in Miami, reports the Miami Herald.

Santos and Gil both face three to six years in prison when they are sentenced in July and August, respectively.