Five people have been sent to federal prison for their roles in a $25 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved people from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic posing as U.S. patients.
The sentences imposed last week by a Miami federal judge ranged from 15 months to four years. The five defendants are among 10 who have pleaded guilty after they were charged last year in a 36-count grand jury indictment.
One person, 70-year-old Jose Eloy Sanchez, remains at large and is believed to be in Nicaragua.
Court records show the scheme involved use of foreign individuals to pose as if they were Florida residents in the filing of fraudulent Medicare claims. The group used false addresses and paid foreigners to travel to the U.S. to be seen by a doctor.
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