The husband and wife co-owners of a Miami pain management
clinic and a patient recruiter pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute
controlled substances for their participation in a scheme to unlawfully
distribute thousands of pills of oxycodone.
Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the
Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for
the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Robert Lasky of the
FBI’s Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General
(HHS-OIG); Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service
(USSS), and Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division made the
announcement.
“The so-called ‘pain clinic’ owned by David Bosch and Tania
Sanchez traded oxycodone prescriptions for cash, resulting in bogus, medically
unnecessary prescriptions for at least 7,500 tablets of oxycodone,” said
Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.
“Pill mills like this must be shut down.
The Department of Justice is committed to reducing the staggering number
of opioid overdoses in this country, and holding accountable all responsible
parties, from owners of illegal clinics to patient recruiters, for their roles
in this deadly scourge.”
David Bosch, 46, and Tania Sanchez, 47, of Hialeah, Florida,
and Odalys Abreu, 45, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of
conspiracy to distribute controlled substances before U.S. Magistrate Judge
John O’Sullivan of the Southern District of Florida. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 7
before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard of the Southern District of
Florida. Ledif Acanda Machado, 39, who
was charged in this conspiracy, remains a fugitive.
Bosch and Sanchez owned and operated East Medical Office
Inc. (“East”), purportedly a pain management clinic located at 3778 West 12th
Avenue, in Hialeah, Florida. Bosch
incorporated the cash-only clinic in April 2017 and ran it with Sanchez until
their arrests on May 3. Bosch and
Sanchez hired a physician to be the purported medical doctor of East because
they knew the physician would write prescriptions for oxycodone without regard
to medical necessity. They paid the
physician $125 for each prescription.
They also conspired with patient recruiters and drug diverters to distribute
oxycodone. Bosch introduced a purported
patient recruiter to Machado and Abreu and informed the recruiter that the
recruiter could make money by obtaining oxycodone pills from medically
unnecessary prescriptions from East and then selling the pills. Additionally, Sanchez filled out fraudulent
medical paperwork for purported patients.
Abreu recruited her own patients to visit East. Abreu brought to East at least 18 individuals
who paid approximately $250 for each purported “medical consultation” in order
to receive controlled substances, especially oxycodone, that were not medically
necessary. Abreu’s recruits received
prescriptions for at least 5,000 tablets of oxycodone 30 mg. Abreu also offered to purchase pills from
another individual whom she believed was a patient recruiter at East.
The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and the
defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in
a court of law.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, USSS, and
the DEA. Trial Attorney Adam Yoffie of
the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force,
which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS
to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current
anti-fraud laws around the country. The
Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in 10 locations nationwide. Since its inception in March 2007, the
Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,700 defendants who collectively
have falsely billed the Medicare program over $14 billion.
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