WASHINGTON—An owner of a Miami home health care company pleaded guilty today in connection with a $13 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved paying kickbacks and bribes to Medicare beneficiaries, doctors’ offices, medical clinics and others in exchange for patient referrals and fraudulent prescriptions to support fraudulent billings to Medicare.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Derrick Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

Alexander Lara, 46, of Hollywood, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Chris M. McAliley of the Southern District of Florida. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 14, 2015.

According to his plea documents, Lara was an owner and operator of Longcare Home Health Corporation (Longcare Home Health), a Miami home health care agency that purported to provide home health and therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries. In connection with his guilty plea, Lara admitted that he and his co-conspirators actually operated Longcare Home Health for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for, among other things, expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or not provided at all.

As an organizer and leader of the schemes at Longcare Home Health, Lara admitted that he personally paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters and Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for patient referrals. Lara also admitted that he paid kickbacks and bribes to doctors’ offices and clinics in exchange for fraudulent prescriptions for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services for Medicare beneficiaries. These false prescriptions and recruited patients were used to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services, and Lara admitted that he personally oversaw the submission of these fraudulent claims. From approximately January 2009 through November 2014, Medicare paid approximately $13.7 million for the fraudulent claims submitted by Longcare Home Health.

The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Anne P. McNamara of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 2,100 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6.5 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.