MIAMI – A federal magistrate judge has unsealed an indictment charging Miami resident Julio Arsenio Rodriguez, 61, with running a money laundering operation involving millions of Medicare and Medicaid health care fraud proceeds.
These proceeds stemmed from multiple clinics located throughout South Florida that allegedly provided durable medical equipment (DME) to eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Instead, the DME was never requested, needed, or supplied. These clinics received millions from Medicare and Medicaid and Rodriguez used his companies to launder those proceeds.
The indictment charges Rodriguez with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 14 counts of money laundering.
The conspiracy to commit money laundering and the act of money laundering are punishable by a penalty of 10-20 years in prison for each count. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
An indictment is a charging instrument containing allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar, Health and Human Services–Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Region; acting Special Agent in Charge Robert M. DeWitt, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the charges.
HHS-OIG, Miami Region, FBI, Miami Field Office, and the Florida Office of the Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Canzio is prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.
You may find related court documents and information on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.