FLORIDA — Four Florida residents have been indicted on federal charges for their alleged roles in a conspiracy involving Medicare fraud, illegal kickbacks, and the falsification of health care records, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
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Edward Cannatelli, 60, and Robbyn Cannatelli, 68, both of Parkland, Thomas Farese, 82, of Fort Lauderdale, and Virginia Lockett, 55, of Margate, are accused of participating in two separate criminal conspiracies related to durable medical equipment (DME) fraud.
The defendants allegedly submitted false claims to Medicare using physicians’ orders for braces that were medically unnecessary and often issued without proper patient contact.
If convicted on all counts, Edward and Robbyn Cannatelli and Mr Farese each face up to 65 years in federal prison. Ms Lockett faces a maximum penalty of 85 years. The indictment includes a notice of forfeiture for any assets derived from the alleged crimes.
According to the indictment, beginning in June 2019 and continuing through June 2020, the defendants and others—identified as Patsy Truglia, 56, of Parkland, and LouTricia Morgan, 49, of Sunrise—ran a telemarketing operation that collected Medicare beneficiaries’ personal data to initiate fake brace orders.
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That information was reportedly routed to telemedicine vendors who paid illegal bribes to physicians to sign the DME orders without proper consultation. The signed orders were then used to file fraudulent claims to Medicare. To evade detection, the group is said to have submitted the claims through three separate DME storefronts under their control.
Mr Truglia and Ms Morgan previously pleaded guilty in separate cases for their roles in the conspiracy. Mr Farese is also awaiting sentencing in a separate federal money laundering case out of New Jersey.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Jay G. Trezevant and Tiffany E. Fields are prosecuting the case.
Asset forfeiture proceedings will be handled by Assistant United States Attorney James A. Muench.
The indictment is a formal charge and not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
