Home Miami Press Releases 2009 Owner of Hialeah Health Care Facilities Charged with Making Threats to Medicare Employees
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Owner of Hialeah Health Care Facilities Charged with Making Threats to Medicare Employees

U.S. Attorney’s Office August 10, 2009
  • Southern District of Florida (305) 961-9001

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 the Inspector General, Miami Regional Office, announced that defendant Yamill Ramos Perez, of Miami-Dade County, was indicted on charges of threatening to injure a Medicare Fraud Investigator and a Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He was arrested on Friday, August 7, 2009. The arraignment and detention hearing are scheduled for Thursday, August 13, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. before the duty Magistrate Judge.

The Indictment, dated August 6, 2009, alleges that Ramos owned, through intermediaries, two health care clinics: El Palenque Farmacia Corp., and Meli Pharmacy, both located in Hialeah, Florida. The clinics allegedly billed Medicare for approximately $20,000,000, and Medicare reimbursed the clinics for approximately $6,000,000. The two clinics were then placed on "pre-payment review" because of suspected fraud. The "pre-payment review" status is designed to prevent clinics that fraudulently bill Medicare from receiving additional reimbursements.

According to the Indictment, beginning in January 2009, Ramos repeatedly contacted Medicare requesting the removal of the pre-payment review. Specifically, Ramos sent numerous facsimiles accusing Medicare of ruining lives. In one facsimile, Ramos stated, "Let us return the favor by ruining theirs."

On January 16, 2009, Ramos is alleged to have threatened a Medicare Fraud Investigator in Indiana. On July 9, 2009, Ramos is alleged to have threatened a Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Maryland. The Indictment alleges that Ramos caused substantial emotional distress to the two victims and placed them in a reasonable fear of serious bodily injury, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2261A(2) and 875(c).

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 H. Ron Davidson.

An indictment is only an accusation and 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. 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 http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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