Nursing Assistant Sentenced in Fraud Scheme

Christian “Chris” Cruz was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.7 million in restitution for his role in an $11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were sent thousands of orthotic braces they did not need. He is a nursing assistant and owner and operator of a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier. Cruz and his co-conspirator used illegally acquired doctors’ orders to ship orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide and then claim payment from Medicare, including to beneficiaries who neither requested nor needed the braces. Read a story from CBS News and Department of Justice press release.

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