FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida—A federal jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, convicted a nursing assistant for his role in an $11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were allegedly sent thousands of orthotic braces they did not need.
“Defendant Chris Cruz blatantly lied to Medicare in order to steal over $11 million from hard-working taxpayers,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s criminal division. “[This] guilty verdict demonstrates that the criminal division remains committed to holding criminals accountable who steal from their fellow citizens to fuel their own greed.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, of Pompano Beach, Florida, owned and operated a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier based in Florida through which he allegedly submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary orthotic braces.
Cruz and his co-conspirator, Jorge Luis Almansa, 54, paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to obtain signed doctors’ orders. They used these orders to ship orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide and then claim payment from Medicare, including to beneficiaries who neither requested nor required the braces. Cruz allegedly lied to Medicare, claiming that he was the sole owner and operator of the company when in fact he shared ownership in the company with his co-conspirator, a convicted felon. The co-conspirator has been charged but remains at large.
Cruz received several hundred thousand dollars to his personal bank account from the fraudulent scheme that he frequently withdrew in cash on consecutive days at different bank branches in South Florida, often in amounts just under the bank reporting threshold of $10,000.
“Health care fraud is not a paperwork offense—it is a crime that steals from seniors and undermines confidence in our health care system,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant was a licensed nurse who chose greed over duty, exploiting Medicare beneficiaries through a deliberate $11.4 million fraud scheme. The jury’s verdict makes clear that medical professionals who abuse their positions of trust for personal gain will face serious consequences.”
Cruz was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, four counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to make false statements relating to health care matters and three counts of structuring. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13 and faces a maximum penalty of 125 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.