Miami Doctor Sentenced for HIV Infusion Fraud Scheme
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 29, 2009 |
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that a Miami doctor was sentenced today following his conviction for Medicare and Medicaid HIV infusion fraud. Manuel Barbeite was sentenced to 78 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, Barbeite was ordered to pay $3,451,120.67 in restitution. Barbeite’s co-defendant, Walter Proano, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2009.
Barbeite’s conviction resulted from his involvement in a scheme to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid programs through his work at Diagnostic Medical Choice, a Southwest Miami clinic that billed these health care programs for expensive infusion medications intended to treat a rare illness suffered by a small portion of those afflicted with HIV/AIDS. To execute the scheme, Barbeite fabricated patient medical records and wrote prescriptions for large quantities of these medications. He then sought federal and state reimbursement for the medications, which had not been provided as claimed.
John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Miami’s office stated, “Criminals who commit health care fraud steal from U.S. taxpayers and make medical care more expensive for all of us. The FBI recognizes the prevalence of health care fraud in South Florida and we will continue to work with our partners to combat this crime problem.”
Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Health Care Fraud Squad and the Florida Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General Stephen A. LeClair.
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 United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.