Indictments allege Medicare and Medicaid fraud, kickbacks in Rio Grande Valley

[TexasTowelie]

McALLEN — Federal prosecutors have targeted four local healthcare businesses accused of kickbacks and fraud in four separate indictments handed down this month, the latest of which were made public Tuesday.

Some of the businesses targeted by the government already have been the subject of civil forfeiture lawsuits, in which prosecutors look to seize money in bank accounts associated with the targeted companies.

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Veronica Vela and Cynthia Zapata accused of submitting more than $4.8 million in fraudulent Medicaid claims between 2006 and 2013. Both were arrested on the 12-count indictment Tuesday. Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit to seize more than $268,000 from the company in January.

Agents with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services investigated the case into Vela, the owner of ABC DME, and Zapata, who worked as a billing agent.

Vela and Zapata are accused of billing for pull-ups and disposable undergarments that were not delivered or partially delivered to patients, the indictment states. Prosecutors also accuse the pair of knowingly filing the false Medicaid claims for medical supplies not authorized by a physician.

Read more: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/valley/article_6d12d5fe-1569-11e5-9b7b-a30c5b45a4fc.html

[840high]

1. Good.