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Mother, daughter charged with fraud

Mother, daughter charged with fraud

MIAMI – A south Florida federal grand jury has charged Mirosis Gonzalez and her daughter Berioska Sosa with paying kickbacks in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries to their pharmacy, then using the referrals to steal millions from Medicare. Gonzalez and Sosa owned and operated Aviva Care Pharmacy (which did business under the name American Care Pharmacy) in Sunrise, Fla. From August 2016 through May 2020, the defendants allegedly paid kickbacks and bribes to marketing and telemedicine companies in exchange for referrals for Medicare beneficiaries, as well as doctor orders and prescriptions, to Aviva Care Pharmacy.  It is alleged that the bribed companies sent, and Aviva accepted, orders for DME and prescriptions for pharmaceutical medication, without considering medical necessity or Medicare reimbursement eligibility.  The defendants allegedly negotiated the kickback and bribe arrangements with the companies and created sham contracts meant to disguise the bribes as payments for marketing and other services. Gonzalez and Sosa reportedly submitted more than$12 million in false claims to Medicare and Aviva Care Pharmacy received payments totaling more than $8.4 million.

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