Press Release
THREE CHARGED IN HEALTH CARE FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME
April 3, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Christopher B. Dennis, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced the March 26, 2009 Indictment of three defendants in a health care fraud and money laundering scheme that resulted in the submission of approximately $20,029,653 in fraudulent claims to Medicare. Charged in the Indictment are defendants Roberto Sanchez, 36, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Javier Sarduy, 35, of Gallatin, Tennessee, and Edgar Uribe, 27, of Colombia. The defendants resided in Miami, Florida, during the commission of the fraud. Two of the defendants, Roberto Sanchez and Javier Sarduy, were arrested on Friday, April 3, 2009, in the Middle District of Tennessee, and had their initial appearances on this same date. A removal hearing is scheduled for both defendants at 4:30 p.m. today in federal court in Tennessee. Defendant Edgar Uribe remains at large.
According to the twenty-count (21) Indictment, Roberto Sanchez controlled and operated three durable medical equipment (“DME”) companies in South Florida: Floridian Medical Supply, Inc., Premium Care Medical, Inc., and E.J.C. Medical Services, Inc.. He operated these three companies, respectively, through Juan Pablo Dimmer, and defendants Javier Sarduy, and Edgar Uribe, nominee owners whom he had recruited and installed. Dimmer was separately indicted on October 10, 2008, and pled guilty on February 9, 2009, to one count of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan on May 6, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.
Specifically, the Indictment alleges that between August 2002 and August 2007, Roberto Sanchez directed defendants Sarduy and Uribe to incorporate the three DME companies in the State of Florida and obtain a corresponding corporate bank account for each company. Roberto Sanchez further directed Sarduy and Uribe to apply for and obtain a Medicare provider number, which, when used in conjunction with already illegally obtained Medicare beneficiary and physician information, enabled each company to submit claims to Medicare for DME purportedly rendered to Medicare beneficiaries. Once the claims were received, Medicare, at the instruction of defendants Sarduy and Uribe, reimbursed the companies via direct deposit into the previously established corporate bank accounts.
The Indictment further explains that once the DME companies were in receipt of the ill-gotten Medicare funds, Roberto Sanchez directed Sarduy and Uribe to write large checks from each company’s corporate bank account to various individuals and entities. Amongst these entities was a sham company incorporated in the State of Florida by Roberto Sanchez, which company was created for no purpose other than to launder the fraudulently obtained Medicare funds.
If convicted, Roberto Sanchez, Javier Sarduy, and Edgar Uribe face a maximum of ten (10) years’ imprisonment on the health care fraud offenses. Each also faces a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years’ imprisonment on the money laundering offenses.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benton Curtis.
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 http://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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