WORTHINGTON, MN – Jeremias Otoniel Herrera Rosales, 37, an illegal alien from Guatemala, along with Jennifer Guadalupe Herrera, 43, and Jaklyn Guerra, 52, were sentenced to prison for conspiring to obtain over $500,000 in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security benefits, including a kidney transplant. The sentences were handed down on June 24, 2024, and July 2, 2024.
Herrera Rosales received a 16-month prison term following his guilty plea on February 7, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Jennifer Guadalupe Herrera was sentenced to one month in prison after her guilty plea on February 9, 2024, and Jaklyn Guerra received a one-month prison term following her guilty plea on February 6, 2024, both for the same charge.
Evidence presented in court showed that Herrera Rosales, a Guatemalan citizen with no legal status in the United States, was provided with the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of an individual identified as D.G. by Guerra and Herrera, who are sisters. Starting no later than 2015, Herrera Rosales used D.G.’s identity to apply for Medicare and Minnesota Medicaid benefits. These programs are federally funded, with Minnesota Medicaid also partially funded through a cost-sharing arrangement.
Between 2015 and 2020, Herrera Rosales fraudulently obtained more than $500,000 in benefits from Medicare, Minnesota Medicaid, and the Social Security Administration. He also gained placement on the organ donor registry under the false pretense of being D.G., leading to a federally funded kidney transplant in 2019. Herrera Rosales admitted in his plea agreement that his fraudulent receipt of the kidney transplant meant another person in genuine need did not receive it.
The case highlights the severe consequences of health care fraud and the impact on individuals awaiting critical medical procedures.