Miami Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty in $20 Million Health Care Fraud

Isabel Medina, the owner and operator of Merfi Corp., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro of the Southern District of Florida. The 49-year old Miami resident was tied to several fraud schemes that totaled more than $20 million.

Merfi was a medical clinic that employed physicians, physician assistants and other medical professionals who were authorized to write prescriptions for home health care services. According to court documents, Medina and her co-conspirators channeled those prescriptions and other pertinent medical documentation to area home health agencies, including Flores Home Health Care, and patient recruiters in return for kickbacks and bribes.

As previously reported in our blog on December 4, it was discovered that Flores Home Health actually operated for the sole purpose of billing the Medicare program for expensive physical therapy and home health care services that were not medically necessary or were not provided, similar to what was found with the other home health care agencies’ operations.

Medina has acknowledged her involvement in the fraudulent schemes. She could receive a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for March 14, 2014.