A former CFO at Tustin (Calif.) Hospital and Medical Center has agreed to plead guilty to paying kickbacks for the recruiting of homeless people from Los Angeles' skid row, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
Vincent Rubio was the CFO at Tustin when authorities raided the hospital two years ago as part of an investigation into an alleged multimillion-dollar Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme.
According to the plea agreement, filed Feb. 9 in federal court in Los Angeles, Mr. Rubio admitted helping arrange payments to people who recruited homeless people and transported them to the hospital, which would then run up bills that were paid by Medicare and Medi-Cal, the Times reported. Mr. Rubio also acknowledged he pocketed kickbacks from the recruiters and failed to report the money when he filed for income tax, according to the report.
Mr. Rubio is the fifth person charged in the scheme and faces up to 15 years in prison, according to the Times. He is due in court next month.
Read the Los Angeles Times story on the Vincent Rubio plea.