November 8, 2016
Niurka Fernandez and her son Roberto Alvarez were sentenced to 120 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in spearheading a $9.5 million health care fraud conspiracy that targeted Medicare Part D. In addition, Fernandez and Alvarez were ordered to pay respectively $9.5 million and $1.5 million in restitution and to forfeit the same amounts. As part of her guilty plea, Fernandez admitted she co-owned and operated several pharmacies in the Miami area, including Calan Pharmacy & Discount Service LLC and Bertyann Corp. (doing business as Best Pharmacy), for the purpose of submitting false and fraudulent claims through Medicare Part D by paying kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries and patient recruiters for prescriptions that were medically unnecessary. DOJ
Tagged in: Healthcare Fraud, Part D,