Latest news with #DeAngelo
Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Health
- Miami Herald
Kendall companies and doctors pay $810,000 to settle Medicare fraud charges
Just over $810,000 brought an end to a five-year federal court civil case in which a Kendall radiology center and some of its doctors were accused of Medicare fraud. The settlement agreement allows Vascular and Interventional Specialists, Vascular and Spine Institute, Dr. Oscar Sosa and Dr. Osmany DeAngelo to continue to deny admitting to charging Medicare for unnecessary angioplasty procedures from Jan. 1, 2015, through Sept. 30, 2019. But the two companies — which state corporate records say are run by Sosa, Gary Tie-Shue and Peter Clayton out of 9175 SW 87th Ave. — and the two doctors are paying $810,301 to bring this case to a conclusion. MORE: Miami plastic surgery center once sued by 50 Cent now on suspension Sosa has been licensed in Florida since May 2000. According to online state records, Sosa has never faced professional discipline, but state insurance records say his malpractice insurance paid $225,000 after a procedure involving two angioplasties left a patient with a 'right foot drop,' which Cleveland Clinic describes as 'a symptom in which you drag your toes when you walk due to weakness or paralysis of certain muscles in your foot.' DeAngelo has been licensed in Florida as an osteopathic physician since May 2004. Although he has no professional discipline history, this isn't the first time he has faced trouble related to an angiogram. State insurance records say DeAngelo's malpractice insurance paid $250,000 on Aug. 31, 2021, after his 'alleged failure to fully describe findings and recommend additional treatments or transfer' after interpreting an angiogram while at Larkin Community Hospital in South Miami. This case was originally filed by whistleblower Dr. Emilio Lopez, who provided radiology services at Vascular from Oct. 1, 2018, until Aug. 26, 2019. The False Claims Act allows Lopez to file suit on behalf of the federal government and get a cut of the money recovered. In this case, that share is $186,369. The flow of blood — and money? 'Angioplasty is a procedure used to open blocked coronary arteries caused by coronary artery disease,' Johns Hopkins Medical Center says. 'It restores blood flow to the heart muscle without open-heart surgery.' Angioplasty is one of the vascular and radiology services offered on an outpatient basis at Vascular, which operated out of 7887 North Kendall Dr. during the 2015-2019 period in question. The case alleged that Vascular altered patient medical records or lied on patient medical records to make it appear as if various angioplasties were necessary. Lopez's lawsuit claimed the Vascular management tried to bring him into the alleged scheme on various levels, but he refused. 'On Aug. 23, 2019, [Lopez] again discussed the defendants' fraudulent practices with Clayton, Sosa, and DeAngelo,' the lawsuit said. 'At the meeting, Clayton, Sosa, and DeAngelo offered no explanation for how the surgeries were medically necessary and nonfraudulent. The defendants made it clear to [Lopez] that their practices would continue despite [Lopez's] repeated protestations. 'On various occasions, Sosa laughed off [Lopez's] concerns. For example, he stated that if the govenment audited VIS, DeAngelo 'would be the only one going to jail.' He also commented that 'nobody ever has to pay any of the money back.''
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Yahoo
Georgia daycare worker sentenced in 'Operation Homeless' fraud scheme targeting NKY banks
A Georgia daycare worker will spend time behind bars for his role in a group that recruited people from public libraries and homeless shelters to participate in a scheme to defraud banks in numerous states, including Kentucky. DeAngelo Wilson, 29, was sentenced Monday in federal court in Covington to 30 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy, which prosecutors say involved at least eight others and was dubbed "Operation Homeless." He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Judge David Bunning's courtroom in October to a single count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Those involved in the conspiracy are primarily from the Atlanta area and traveled to Northern Kentucky at least five times in 2018. Prosecutors said in court filings that the group stayed at local motels, stole checks from business mailboxes and changed the names of the intended recipients to those of locals recruited to cash the checks. They successfully cashed one such check at a Crestview Hills bank and tried to cash others at banks in Fort Mitchell. Wilson was a "recruiter" who solicited others to cash the stolen checks, prosecutors said. His attorney has yet to respond to messages from The Enquirer seeking comment on the case. The check cashers were paid a flat fee and the conspiracy's other members split the remaining proceeds, prosecutors said, adding the group stole as much as $40,000 to $95,000. Wilson participated in similar conduct in Pennsylvania and Florida, according to his plea agreement. Prosecutors said a check casher was arrested in Pennsylvania and identified Wilson as one of the people who recruited them. "DeAngelo admits wrongdoing and takes responsibility for his actions," his attorney wrote in a presentence court filing. The scheme spanned numerous other states, such as Maryland, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Most other members of the conspiracy were sentenced much earlier, including: Antonio McCoy, who was ordered in June 2020 to 40 months in prison. Tylus Echols, who received a 72-month prison term in July 2020. Jeremy Morris, who was sentenced in July 2020 to 36 months. Jamarr Myhan, who received a 15-month sentence in June 2020. Bianca Norwood, who was sentenced in September 2020 to two months. Selina Petty, who was ordered in January 2021 to two months behind bars. Chandrea Phillips, who was sentenced in August 2020 to time served. While McCoy was the first to be arrested in December 2018 during a trip to Northern Kentucky, court records show Wilson wasn't apprehended until May 2024. Before his arrest, Wilson worked for three years at a daycare owned and operated by his mother, according to court documents. "DeAngelo realizes that participating in such activities with this group, and the 'get easy money' attitude, is not the answer to a successful life," his attorney wrote. "He fully understands that, in the future, he will have to work hard to provide the support his family needs, and is committed to doing so." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man sentenced in 'Operation Homeless' fraud scheme in NKY
