Guilty plea made in Medicare fraud case

MIAMI, July 3 (UPI) -- A Florida couple have pleaded guilty to making millions of dollars by filing $420 million in false claims for Medicare medical equipment, authorities say.

Abner and Mabel Diaz of Miami Lakes, Fla., pleaded guilty to fraud charges in federal court in Miami as part of the Medicare scandal, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

Abner and Mabel, ages 37 and 36, respectively, pleaded guilty to taking commissions from false claims paid out by the government's healthcare program for the elderly.

As part of their pleas Wednesday, the Diazes agreed to give federal authorities between $2 million and $4 million worth of goods in addition to facing 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the remaining millions of dollars given to the fraudulent equipment suppliers used in the Medicare scam never would be recovered.

The couple's scam involved equipment companies in Miami-Dade County that bought lists of elderly Medicare patients to use their names to file the false medical supply claims, the Herald said.