A Florida federal judge sentenced Arnaldo Carmouze, a former physician assistant, to 80 months in prison for his role in a $1 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme.
Mr. Carmouze was one of three defendants charged in 2016 for his involvement in the scam, which involved admitting patients to skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities owned by Philip Esformes for medically unnecessary care.
Mr. Carmouze was sentenced roughly three months after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud.
One of his co-defendants, Odette Barcha, pleaded guilty in January to defrauding the federal government and paying and receiving healthcare kickbacks. On April 3, she was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Mr. Esformes took his case to trial and was found guilty April 5 of 20 charges, including paying and receiving kickbacks, money laundering and bribery. His lawyers plan to file an appeal in the case.
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