Federal authorities have initiated civil forfeiture proceedings in the Southern District of Florida targeting two companies accused of health care fraud. The Justice Department filed complaints seeking to recover nearly $11 million allegedly obtained through fraudulent Medicare claims by Vida Med Center LLC and Med-Union Medical Center, Inc.
According to the complaints, both companies are enrolled as Medicare providers and are alleged to have submitted false claims for durable medical equipment (DME) that was not medically necessary or not provided as claimed. Vida Med is said to have billed Medicare for over $14 million and received more than $8.7 million in reimbursements. Med-Union reportedly submitted more than $19 million in claims and was paid over $14.1 million, with all of its paid claims based on prescriptions from a single provider.
The government is seeking forfeiture of $967,760.37 from Vida Med and $10,014,325.40 from Med-Union in proceeds it alleges were fraudulently obtained.
“FBI Miami and HHS-OIG are investigating the cases,” according to a statement released by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida; 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, Miami Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marx P. Calderón and Joshua Paster are prosecuting these actions.
Officials emphasized that “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.”
More information about this case can be found at the website for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl, as well as related court documents on www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case numbers 25-cv-23345 and 25-cv-23340.
