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Miami Beach Doctor Indicted in Medicare Fraud Scheme

Pedro Cuni, 75, of Miami Beach, was arrested at his home on September 27, 2006 without incident. He made his initial appearance in federal court on Thursday, September 28, 2006, and was released on a $100,000 bond. The twenty-two (22) count Indictment alleges that from about July 2000 through March 2004, Cuni worked at R.C. Medical Center, Inc., located at 800 Palm Avenue, Suite A, in Hialeah Florida. The Indictment alleges that durable medical equipment (DME) company owners paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters and to patients who were Medicare beneficiaries. In return, the DME owners would use those beneficiaries’ Medicare identification numbers to bill for prescriptions for DME and related services.

The Indictment further alleges that patient recruiters regularly paid Cuni to sign blank prescriptions and Certificates of Medical Necessity for DME and related items and services for patients he never saw. Using the fraudulently obtained beneficiary identification information and prescriptions, co-conspirators subsequently submitted claims in excess of $1 million to Medicare for the cost of DME and other items or services, which were either medically unnecessary or were never delivered to a qualified Medicare beneficiary.

The conspiracy count carries a maximum statutory sentence of five (5) years in prison. Each of the thirteen (13) health care fraud counts carries a maximum statutory sentence of ten (10) years in prison. Each of the eight (8) kickback counts carries a statutory maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison.