The former head honcho of a Whittier health clinic has been slapped with a ten-plus year prison term after pleading guilty to a scheme that fleeced Medi-Cal out of millions. Vincenzo Rubino, 59, was handed a 124-month sentence in federal prison, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office. This caper involved submitting fake claims to a healthcare program that serves low-income Californians.
Rubino, who once led Santa Maria’s Children and Family Center, was not only ordered to serve time behind bars, but he's also been tagged with a bill for $3,815,478 in restitution, and he’s got to cough up a money judgment of $2,308,028, the feds say. The scheme ran from November 2014 to August 2017 and during this period, the clinic submitted almost $5 million in fraudulent claims, for family planning services that weren't provided, according to a statement obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice. In order to pull off the scam, Rubino used the names, of two medical providers who weren't even on the clinic’s payroll to file many of these claims.
When Lady Justice came calling, Rubino folded mid-trial in August 2023 with a guilty plea to nine counts of healthcare fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. The phony family planning claims allowed the former CEO to pad his pockets with over $2.3 million worth of ill-gotten gains from Medi-Cal and another $1.5 million was siphoned to a pharmacy and lab for referrals based on the same ghost services.
“This defendant took advantage of health-care services intended for people in need,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada stated. “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.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta added, “Yet, the defendant knowingly exploited patients and healthcare benefit programs for their personal gain.” The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, along with the California Department of Justice took Rubino to task, uncovering his fraudulent operation and bringing him to justice.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kristen A. Williams and David H. Chao prosecuted the case, while the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section’s very own Tara B. Vavere handled it, sealing Rubino's fate and ensuring the state recoups some of its substantial losses.
