News: DOJ convicts nurse practitioner of $200 million fraud scheme
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has convicted a Florida nurse practitioner of a $200 million fraud scheme, according to a federal press release.
Elizabeth Hernandez, 45, of Homestead, Florida, reportedly signed thousands of orders for “medically unnecessary orthotic braces and genetic tests,” the DOJ said.
To conduct the scheme, Hernandez worked in tandem with a telemarketing company who convinced Medicare beneficiaries to order medical equipment. Upon receiving the pre-fill orders for the medical equipment, Hernandez would then sign off on Medicare patients she had never visited, nor seen.
In 2020, according to the DOJ, Hernandez ordered more cancer tests than “any other provider in the nation,” “routinely bill[ing]” the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services (CMS) for more than 24 hours of “office visits” in a single day.
Hernandez pocketed approximately $1.6 million in the CMS fraud scheme, which she then spent on luxury items such as “expensive cars, jewelry, home renovations, and travel.”
On September 21, 2023, a federal jury convicted Hernandez of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud, four counts of healthcare fraud, and three counts of making false statements with respect to healthcare matters.
Hernandez faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison.
Editor’s note: To read the DOJ press release, click here.