In a sweeping crackdown on healthcare fraud, federal authorities have unsealed an indictment charging four Florida residents in an alleged multi-million dollar scheme to fleece the Medicare program. The charges reveal a tangled web of telemarketing, illicit kickbacks, and falsified records designed to siphon funds intended for senior healthcare.
Edward Cannatelli, 60, and Robbyn Cannatelli, 68, both of Parkland; Thomas Farese, 82, of Fort Lauderdale; and Virginia Lockett, 55, of Margate, are now facing the music. The indictment, announced by United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe, lays bare a brazen operation that allegedly defrauded Medicare, made false health care statements, and peddled in illegal kickbacks and bribes.
But the accusations don’t stop there. The quartet is also staring down a second conspiracy charge for wire and healthcare fraud, along with counts of falsifying records during the very federal investigation that brought them down…