MIAMI – Federal prosecutors consider Arisleidys Fernandez Delmas to be the ringleader of a nearly $37 million health care fraud scheme based in South Florida. Now, the Miami woman is set to spend years behind bars and is on the hook for an enormous fine.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a judge sentenced Fernandez Delmas, who pleaded guilty to the scheme, to 104 months in federal prison and ordered her to pay $8,671,377 in restitution as part of a conspiracy to rip off Blue Cross Blue Shield for physical therapy services patients never received.
Fernandez Delmas, 33, was one of 15 people charged in the scheme, many of whom were related. In addition to the prison time and fines, she’ll serve three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors said the group paid kickbacks to beneficiaries of health insurance plans managed by Blue Cross, offering the kickbacks to employees of JetBlue Airways, AT&T and TJX Companies to induce them “to serve as patients at various South Florida physical therapy clinics.”
Source: Miami woman gets federal prison, will pay $8.6M for mega health care fraud scheme / local10.com