A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale found a Florida nursing assistant guilty on Thursday for his involvement in an $11.4 million health care fraud scheme that delivered thousands of unnecessary orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.
Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, from Pompano Beach, was convicted of being part of a conspiracy to defraud Medicare by filing false claims through a durable medical equipment supplier he owned and operated in Florida, as shown by the evidence presented during the trial.
According to prosecutors, Cruz and a co-conspirator engaged in paying illegal kickbacks and bribes to secure doctors’ signatures for authorizing orthotic braces. These orders were then utilized to send braces to numerous Medicare beneficiaries, including those who neither requested nor required the devices. Investigators reported that Medicare was billed for these shipments.
Authorities also revealed that Cruz falsely represented himself as the sole owner of the company when enrolling it in Medicare, hiding the involvement of a co-owner who has a felony conviction. Prosecutors stated that Medicare would not have approved the company’s enrollment if the co-owner’s participation had been disclosed. This co-conspirator has been charged but is still at large.
Financial records indicated that Cruz profited several hundred thousand dollars from the scheme, which he often withdrew in cash from various South Florida bank branches, frequently in amounts just below the $10,000 reporting threshold, according to government sources.
The jury found Cruz guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make false statements related to health care matters, and three counts of structuring financial transactions.
Cruz is set to be sentenced on April 13, facing a statutory maximum of up to 125 years in prison, although the final sentence will be determined by a federal judge.
