Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
April 13, 2010 United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Florida
Contact: (305) 961-9000

Miami Man Pleads Guilty in $61 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

Defendant Spent Millions on Exotic Cars, Jewelry, and Horses

Jeffrey H. Sloman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; Amos Rojas, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Miami Regional Operations Center; and Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, announced that defendant Ihosvany Marquez, of Miami-Dade County, pled guilty on April 12, 2010 to charges of conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Another defendant, Michel De Jesus Huarte, pled guilty in November 2009 to a related Medicare fraud scheme, and was sentenced in January 2010 to 22 years’ imprisonment.

Marquez’s plea agreement contained a detail factual proffer that was filed with the court. In the factual proffer, Marquez admitted that he, along with co-defendant Michel De Jesus Huarte and others, operated and controlled eight purported medical clinics in Miami-Dade and Orange counties. These clinics were Zigma Medical Care, Inc., Tender Loving Care Medical Center, Inc., Professional Medical Health, Inc., Metro Med Care, Inc., San Diego Medical & Rehab Center, Inc., Eulogia's Diagnostic Medical Center, Inc., Stirling Medical & Rehab, and Stop Injury Medical Center, Inc. These clinics submitted at least $61 million in false claims to Medicare for infusion therapy, injection therapy, and other expensive medical treatments designed to treat Medicare beneficiaries suffering from a wide variety of ailments, including cancer, HIV, AIDS, chronic pain, and varicose veins. Based on these fraudulent claims, Medicare paid Marquez and his conspirators approximately $23.9 million.

To conceal their involvement in the scheme, Marquez and his conspirators recruited nominee, or “straw,â€