Seven San Diego defendants charged as a result of national health care fraud takedown
The
On Thursday, Attorney General
According to the
Penalties for those offenses range from two years to five years in prison.
Among the
No attorney for Chavez was listed in online court records, and other attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful Friday.
Prosecutors say Chavez misappropriated the personal identifying information of TRICARE beneficiaries in order to submit the bills and then lied during a federal audit. They say he used the ill-gotten funds to buy a 2016 Jaguar F-type,
Federal agents seized the Jaguar on Tuesday. A call to his office Friday resulted in a recorded message that said his office was closed.
In May, an administrative law judge suspended Chavez's medical license after he admitted to drinking two eight-ounce glasses of vodka two hours before seeing patients. He had been under investigation after a patient reported receiving an empty vodka bottle in a box of sample medications mailed from Chavez.
Other defendants in the health care fraud cases, including two chiropractors, a physical therapist and an acupuncturist, are accused of charges related to the operation of
Prosecutors say the centers offered physical therapy, diagnostic tests, massages, chiropractic treatments and acupuncture, all services that neither TRICARE nor Medicare would cover, and misrepresented them in billing as "physical therapy."
According to the indictment, the defendants fraudulently billed more than
Candelario is also accused of paying patient recruiter
Candelario is charged in a separate indictment with participating in a scheme to defraud
A call to R.I.S.E. on Friday before
An attorney listed in court records as representing Dadiomov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"Public health insurance programs, such as Medicare and TRICARE, are not a personal pocketbook for criminals seeking to exploit government programs designed to help those who need these plans the most," said
The other
Staff writer
Twitter: @danalittlefield
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