Two Florida men were arraigned Tuesday on charges related to their alleged roles in a multimillion-dollar scheme involving durable medical equipment (DME) and prescription drug fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey reported.
Nicholas A. Alberino, 61, of Boca Raton, and his son, Nicholas P. Alberino, 34, of Parkland, are each charged in a seven-count indictment.
The charges include conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and four counts of violating the Anti-Kickback Statute.
According to the indictment, from February 2018 to April 2019, the Alberinos operated five Florida-based companies that generated medically unnecessary prescriptions for costly medications and DME, through a telemarketing and telemedicine scheme targeting Medicare beneficiaries.
Court documents reveal that the Alberinos identified Medicare beneficiaries through call centers, which contacted the beneficiaries by phone and pressured them into accepting high-cost medications and DME.