LOS ANGELES—The owner of a South Los Angeles medical supply company that fraudulently collected nearly $2 million from Medicare for unneeded electric wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison.
Marlon Oslvaldo Palma, 40, of South Los Angeles, was sentenced late yesterday by United States District Judge Christina A. Synder.
Palma, the co-owner of Santos Medical Supply, pleaded guilty in March 2010 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Palma admitted to bilking the Medicare program by submitting claims for $5,000 power wheelchairs and other medical equipment that were unnecessary and, in many instances, never provided to patients. As part of the scheme, Palma bought Medicare patient information and bogus prescriptions from a medical clinic and patient recruiters and then used that information to bill Medicare. Santos Medical Supply submitted nearly $3 million worth of fraudulent claims to Medicare, which paid out $1,822,016.
Palma was arrested in September 2008 after an investigation by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a multi-agency team comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); the Fraud Section in the Criminal Division at the United States Department of Justice in Washington; and the United State’s Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
************************************************************************
Report Medicare & Medicaid Fraud by Calling 1-888-482-6825 or by visiting
www.usawhistleblower.com
