Former Owner of Atenas Medical Equipment, Inc. Arrested on Health Care Fraud Charges
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 21, 2009 |
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael J. Folmar, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, and Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, announced the arrest today of defendant Maria A. Aloise, 40, of Miami-Dade County, and the unsealing of an Indictment charging Aloise with health care fraud. FBI agents arrested Aloise this morning, and she had her initial appearance in federal court in Miami this afternoon. A detention hearing has been set for August 24, 2009.
On August 20, 2009, a federal grand jury in Miami returned an eleven-count Indictment charging Aloise with health care fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1347. According to the Indictment, Aloise was the owner of Atenas Medical Equipment, Inc., a Hialeah-based company that purportedly provided durable medical equipment (“DME”) to Medicare beneficiaries. From June 8, 2005, through April 4, 2007, Atenas Medical Equipment is alleged to have submitted approximately $1,421,346 in fraudulent claims to Medicare seeking reimbursement for DME items, such as oxygen concentrators and hospital beds, that had not been prescribed by physicians nor provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
If convicted, Aloise faces a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment on each of the health care fraud counts.
An indictment is only an accusation is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Hunter.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.