A recent sentencing has highlighted a significant Medicare fraud case in Florida. U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan handed down prison terms to multiple defendants involved in a scheme that siphoned $54.3 million from the Medicare program. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Luis Lacerda of West Palm Beach received a sentence of three years and five months in federal prison, Omar Solari of Fort Lauderdale was sentenced to two years and six months, Michael Murphy of Fort Lauderdale received a 15-month sentence, and Joelson Viveros of Boca Raton was sentenced to five years' probation.
The group ran a scheme involving kickbacks and bribes to telemarketers and telemedicine providers to generate unnecessary prescriptions for mostly topical creams. They then billed Medicare for these prescriptions, securing large reimbursements. Judge Corrigan ordered Lacerda to forfeit over $15 million and pay more than $54 million in restitution to directly address the profits from this fraud.
This large-scale operation ran from approximately 2018 through 2021. Court documents reveal that beneficiaries, most often recruited by telemarketers, received prescriptions that they neither wanted nor needed. Telemedicine companies partnering with the scheme were paid to have their physicians—or those contracted—sign off on these prescriptions en masse, often with minimal or no actual consultation.
The repercussions for these crimes are substantial, reflecting the severity of the defendants’ actions. Alongside Lacerda's restitution and a forfeiture, Solari is required to forfeit nearly $6.4 million and pay $36 million in restitution, Murphy to forfeit over $3.6 million and pay upwards of $8 million in restitution, and Viveros to forfeit close to $900,000 and pay over $3 million in restitution.
The investigation of this fraudulent activity was carried out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Prosecutors in the case were Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian and Trial Attorney Gary Winters of the Department of Justice – Criminal Division, Fraud Section. The efforts to reclaim and restore the fraudulently obtained funds were managed by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer M. Harrington and Mai Tran.
