Pembroke Pines Doc Accused in Fake-Patient Drug Trial Scam

A Pembroke Pines doctor who helped run a clinical research site is at the center of a newly unsealed federal case, with prosecutors accusing him and several staffers of faking patients and test results in multiple drug trials. The indictment, unsealed on June 10, 2026, alleges that co‑owner Dr. Jaynier Moya and three study coordinators entered bogus data into the databases pharmaceutical companies and regulators rely on to judge experimental medicines. If proven, prosecutors say the scheme could have warped safety signals in those studies and potentially rippled through the national drug approval process for trials handled at independent sites.

What prosecutors allege

According to the Department of Justice, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida charged Moya, 49, of Southwest Ranches, and co‑workers Luis Montano, 55, and Yuniarka Garcia, 41, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Moya, Montano, and Garcia also face three counts each of substantive wire fraud. A fourth staffer, Alexandra Olivera, 38, was charged separately in a criminal information. The DOJ says the case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Health and Safety Unit and investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.

How investigators say the scheme worked

According to reporting that reviewed the charging documents, Pines Care staff allegedly used identification documents belonging to real people who never actually took part in the trials, then used those identities to create fake enrollment records. Investigators say staff fabricated test results and submitted those false numbers into official trial databases. Prosecutors allege the conduct started no later than 2019 and continued across multiple studies. If the government proves the charges, the falsified safety and efficacy data could have skewed sponsors' analyses and regulators' assessments, as reported by Hannah Howell.

Pines Care's research footprint

Pines Care Research Center marketed itself to drug sponsors as a busy independent site and lists a Pembroke Pines address on its website. Multiple ClinicalTrials.gov records show Pines Care named as an investigational site on Phase II and Phase III studies, including trials in Alzheimer’s disease and nocturia, where Moya appears as a site investigator. State corporate filings from the Florida Division of Corporations list Moya as an authorized manager of Pines Care and tie company records to the Pembroke Pines location, according to the Florida Department of State.

A pattern in South Florida enforcement

This is not the first time federal authorities have zeroed in on South Florida clinical research. In March 2025, the owners of another Pembroke Pines research firm pleaded guilty after admitting they falsified data in asthma drug trials, the Department of Justice reported. That earlier case helped cement a Justice Department focus on independent trial sites in the region and the integrity of the data they generate.

Legal stakes and next steps

The indictment is an allegation, and all four defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in court. Prosecutors say the conspiracy and wire fraud counts carry statutory maximum penalties that can include decades in prison. The case is set to move forward in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, with investigators from the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and trial attorneys from the DOJ’s Health and Safety Unit leading the effort, as reported by Hannah Howell.