The United States government has initiated civil forfeiture actions in the Southern District of Florida to recover nearly $11 million that authorities allege are proceeds from health care fraud involving two companies.
According to court filings, Vida Med Center LLC and Med-Union Medical Center, Inc., both registered as Medicare providers, are accused of submitting false claims for durable medical equipment (DME) that was either not medically necessary or not provided as claimed. The complaints state that Vida Med submitted over $14 million in claims and received more than $8.7 million in reimbursements. Med-Union is alleged to have submitted over $19 million in claims and received more than $14.1 million in payments, with all of its paid claims reportedly based on prescriptions from a single provider.
The civil forfeiture actions seek to recover approximately $967,760 from Vida Med and about $10 million from Med-Union. These funds represent taxpayer dollars allegedly obtained through fraudulent means.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida announced the filing along with Acting Special Agent in Charge Jesus Barranco of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Miami Regional Office, and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.
“FBI Miami and HHS-OIG are investigating the cases.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marx P. Calderón and Joshua Paster are leading the prosecution for these civil matters.
“A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation that money or property was involved in or represents the proceeds of a crime. These allegations are not proven until a court awards a judgment in favor of the United States.”
Additional information about this case can be found on the website for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl, as well as through related court documents available at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case numbers 25-cv-23345 and 25-cv-23340.
