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TALLAHASSEE - A Miami-Dade County man has been arrested for his participation in a racketeering scam that defrauded Florida's taxpayer-funded Medicaid program out of more than $3 million, according to the Florida Attorney General's office. The arrest of Eliseo Eugenio Martinez is the result of a continuing investigation into the Miami pharmacy Nebu-Med. Pharmacy co-owners Laura Fuentes and Jeanette Rivera were arrested earlier this year for their roles in the scheme.
The Attorney General's Office began investigating the pharmacy in 2003 after the state Agency for Health Care Administration referred a complaint to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The investigation revealed that Rivera, 36, and Fuentes, 41, jointly managed Nebu-Med. In June 2003 the women, with the assistance of Martinez, allegedly staged a fake transaction selling the pharmacy to a co-conspirator, a "ghost" who posed as a buyer using a stolen identity. The sale's purpose was to distance the defendants from their scam should it be uncovered. Martinez, 34, was responsible for providing the ghost.
"A 'ghost' operation has been exposed as a racket that stole from the taxpayers," said AG Charlie Crist. "By shining the light on an outrageous abuse of the Medicaid program, we have brought this sorry scam to an end."
After the staged sale, the two women and Martinez continued to use the pharmacy's original provider number to bill Medicaid for fake prescriptions. Medicaid funds were deposited directly into the pharmacy's account, and those funds were steadily withdrawn by checks that Martinez cashed at a Miami-area check cashing store. The scam continued for four months, the attorney general said.
Martinez was arrested and booked into the Miami-Dade County jail, where he is being held on $2 million bond. He is charged with one count of racketeering, 16 counts of first-degree grand theft and one count each of second- and third-degree grand theft. If found guilty on all charges, Martinez could spend the rest of his life in prison and be ordered to pay more than $3 million in restitution. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution. The cases against Rivera and Fuentes are proceeding.
A copy of the arrest affidavit is available at: http://myfloridalegal.com/webfiles.nsf/WF/MRAY-6K9MCE/$file/Martinez_affidavit.pdf
12-21-05
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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