A Miami-based durable medical equipment owner was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his role in using the company to commit Medicare and Medicaid fraud.
Daniel Cazola, 42, also tried to conceal his connection to the fraud by listing a straw owner in corporate and bank records, according to a Sept. 9 Justice Department news release.
Mr. Cazola, who owned Myers Professional Services, admitted earlier this year that he purchased lists of Medicare patients and then directed a biller to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment that was not prescribed by a doctor, not medically necessary and was not supplied to any legitimate patient or recipient.
The company submitted more than $2.3 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid between November 2021 and February 2022 and was paid more than $1.6 million, according to the Justice Department. The proceeds were transferred from a Myers Professional Services account to accounts held in the names of shell companies. Those funds were withdrawn from the shell company accounts by others so it could not be traced to Mr. Cazola.