Florida nursing assistant convicted of stealing millions in Medicare fraud scheme

A federal jury found a Florida healthcare worker guilty of defrauding the state of over $11 million in Medicare funds. 

Christian Cruz faces up to 125 years in prison after he was convicted of running a medical equipment supplier operation in which he shipped orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, including those “who neither requested nor required the braces,” and then submitted false claims to receive payment from the government, according to federal prosecutors.

The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services’s inspector general’s office led the investigation into Cruz, who was convicted on nine charges, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. 

“Healthcare fraud is not a paperwork offense—it is a crime that steals from seniors