Miami Home Care Agency Owner Arrested for $8 Million Medicare Kickback Scheme

The owner of a Miami home health care agency has been arrested in connection with an $8 million health care fraud scheme involving kickbacks, according to FBI reports. 

Orelvis Olivera, 45, of Miami, was charged earlier this week with conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud, conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and paying and receiving kickbacks in connection with a federal health care benefit program. 

According to the indictment, Acclaim Home Health was a Miami-based home health care agency that purported to provide home health care and physical therapy services to Medicare beneficiaries.

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Olivera allegedly paid kickbacks to patient recruiters in return for the recruiters’ referral of Medicare beneficiaries to Acclaim Home Health. In addition, Olivera allegedly solicited and received kickbacks in return for referring Medicare beneficiaries to other Miami-based home health care agencies.

From May 2008 to June 2014, Acclaim Home Health allegedly billed Medicare approximately $8 million for fraudulent claims, and was paid approximately $7.3 million by Medicare for those claims.

The case was investigated by the FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion.

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Written by Emily Study