A South Florida pharmacy owner is charged with obtaining close to $10 million in fraudulent Medicare reimbursement claims for over-the-counter COVID tests that no one ordered, according to a criminal complaint.
Robert Hopta, the president and registered agent of Golden Hills Pharmacy in Sunrise, is now facing one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday.
During the pandemic, the U.S. government allowed pharmacies to distribute COVID tests at no cost to Medicare beneficiaries. In order to be reimbursed for the tests, the beneficiaries were required to submit claims with their name and Medicare identification number, along with other information.
Between June 2021 and January 2023, Hopta and his unnamed co-conspirators bribed and paid kickbacks to marketing companies in exchange for people’s private Medicare beneficiary information, according to the complaint, including a marketing company referred to only as “Company 1” based in Broward County. Hopta and the co-conspirators then used the beneficiary information to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for over $17 million in COVID tests. --->READ MORE HERE
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Rather than helping legitimate businesses, Bello manipulated these programs by submitting false applications, authorities said.
A McKinney man will spend more than two decades behind bars after being convicted in a major COVID-19 relief fraud case.
Olamide Olatayo Bello was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. On July 24, a judge sentenced Bello to 293 months, or just over 24 years, the statutory maximum allowed by federal guidelines.
According to court documents, Bello was the mastermind behind a scheme to defraud the U.S. government out of millions of dollars during the pandemic. He submitted false applications for federal COVID relief funds, intended to help small businesses stay afloat, and brought others into the scheme as well. In return, prosecutors said Bello profited through direct proceeds and kickbacks from the fraudulent activity.
The fraud targeted programs created under the CARES Act, a massive relief package passed by Congress in March 2020. That included the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, both aimed at helping Americans weather the financial hit of the pandemic. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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