In a case that unveils the underbelly of fraud within the healthcare system, four individuals from South Florida have been indicted on charges of conspiring to defraud Medicare and other related crimes. The United States Department of Justice announced the unsealing of the indictment against Edward Cannatelli, Robbyn Cannatelli, Thomas Farese, and Virginia Lockett for their alleged roles in a telemarketing scheme aimed at generating false claims for durable medical equipment, or DME.
The scheme, as outlined by the Department of Justice, involved the creation of medically unnecessary orders for various orthotic devices like knee and back braces. These phony orders were supported by illegitimately gathered personal information from Medicare beneficiaries, including their names and Medicare ID numbers. The conspirators used a mixture of telemarketing and dubious telemedicine vendors to harvest this data and obtain physicians' signatures for the orders, often without the physicians ever speaking to the patients.
This fraudulent activity was carefully crafted to circumvent Medicare's scrutiny. The criminal complaint continues by stating that in order to fly under the radar, the false claims were spread across three DME storefronts owned and operated by the defendants. The indictment brings to light the various counts faced by the accused—if convicted on all counts, Edward and Robbyn Cannatelli as well as Farese could spend up to 65 years in federal prison, while Lockett could face up to 85 years.
In addition to the Cannatellis and Farese, Patsy Truglia and LouTricia Morgan were also part of the conspiracy. Both have already pleaded guilty in separate cases. Farese is also awaiting sentencing in another case in New Jersey where he's charged with money laundering, according to an statement obtained by the Department of Justice. The case at hand was investigated by the HHS Office of Inspector General and the VA Office of Inspector General, reflecting the gravity and reach of such fraudulent activities within the health care systems.
The four charged individuals' indictment reminds us of the persistent vulnerabilities and potential for exploitation inherent in the nation's healthcare framework. The prosecution of these crimes will be undertaken by Assistant United States Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant and Tiffany E. Fields, with James A. Muench dealing with asset forfeiture matters.
