Alleged Fraud Fugitive Captured in Mexico

Miami

A man accused of heading up a multi-million dollar Medicare fraud scheme before fleeing to Mexico was brought back to the country and arraigned July 20, officials reported.

According to a joint release issued by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and the Miami field offices of the FBI and the IRS:

Lazaro Betancourt, along with six others, was indicted in July 2004 for submitting false DME claims to Medicare and paying kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters for fictitious patients. Betancourt owned three DMEs — Venenic Medical Supplies, MCM Medical Equipment & Supplies and 21st Century Medical Equipment Corp. — but used straw owners to conceal his identity.

When Betancourt learned of a federal investigation into his activities in late 2002, he fled the country. On July 1, the FBI found that he had been taken into custody in Cancun, Mexico, on unrelated charges, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the Mexican government to return him to the United States. When Betancourt was placed on a flight to Miami, he attempted to escape and told agents that they would have to shoot him before he would return to the U.S.

The 79-count indictment charges him with leading a $7 million health fraud and $4 million money laundering ring. He faces a maximum of 490 years imprisonment.