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A federal jury in Miami has convicted a Florida nurse practitioner of health-care conspiracy and other charges for her involvement in a scheme that defrauded Medicare of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Elizabeth Hernandez, 45, has been found guilty by jurors after a trial that lasted several days. She was responsible for fraudulently billing Medicare for over $200 million in orthotic braces and genetic tests that were medically unnecessary, according to the Department of Justice.
Medicare, the federal program that offers health coverage primarily to older Americans, fell victim to Hernandez’s participation in a widespread scheme. Telemarketing companies reached out to Medicare patients, persuading them to request unnecessary braces and tests. Hernandez played a key role in this operation, as confirmed by the DOJ.
After reaching out to Medicare patients, the telemarketing companies sent pre-filled orders to Hernandez. She would then sign these orders, falsely affirming that she had examined or treated the patients, even though she had never spoken with many of them. Prosecutors stated that Hernandez regularly billed Medicare for more than 24 hours of alleged “office visits” in a single day.
The Department of Justice revealed that in 2020, Hernandez ordered more cancer genetic tests for Medicare beneficiaries than any other healthcare provider in the country, including oncologists and geneticists. As a result of her participation in the scheme, Hernandez personally pocketed $1.6 million, which she used to finance purchases of luxury cars, jewelry, home renovations, and trips, according to prosecutors.
One of Hernandez’s co-conspirators, Michael Stein, pleaded guilty in April to defrauding the United States by paying and receiving kickbacks. In June, Stein was sentenced to five years in prison. Operating 1523 Holdings and Growthlogix, Stein’s companies offered healthcare providers bribes and kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary genetic tests.
Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on December 14. The maximum possible sentence for the top count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud is 20 years in prison, with lesser maximums for health care fraud and making false statements. No response has been provided by Hernandez’s lawyer at this time.
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