Three Miami Area Doctors and Six Others Charged in $56 Million Health Care Fra...( WASHINGTON May 29 -- Three Miami...),Health

WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three Miami area doctors and six others have been charged in four separate indictments for their roles in HIV infusion fraud schemes totaling $56 million, the Department of Justice Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced today.

One indictment alleges that between August 2002 and March 2004, Dr. Ronald Harris, 57, and Enrique Gonzalez, 62, conspired to submit approximately $24.5 million in false and fraudulent claims to the Medicare program for HIV infusion services allegedly provided at Physicians Med-Care and Physicians Health Med-Care, HIV infusion clinics that Harris and Gonzalez allegedly controlled. Infusion clinics serve HIV patients by providing prescribed medications intravenously. As part of the scheme, Gonzalez caused the payment of cash kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in exchange for the patients signing documents stating that they had received the treatments being billed to Medicare when such treatments were not provided and not medically necessary. Harris worked as the doctor at Physicians Med-Care and Physicians Health Med-Care and would order unnecessary tests, sign medical forms and authorize treatments to make it appear that legitimate medical services were being provided to Medicare beneficiaries, when in reality the services were not actually provided and were not medically necessary. The indictment also alleges that Harris and Gonzalez laundered the proceeds of their crimes by sending the proceeds to a purported medical company that was actually owned and controlled by Harris, Gonzalez and their co-conspirators.

Harris and Gonzalez are charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to cause the submission of false claims to the Medicare program, and to pay health care kickbacks; one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; and one count of conspiracy to launder the proceeds of their crimes. Harris
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