RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — The owner of two Valley medical equipment companies was sentenced to prison Tuesday for a mail fraud scheme.
Manuel Gomez Jr. was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on one count of attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, records show.
Gomez was facing seven additional counts of health care fraud and fraud with identification documents, which were dismissed.
Gomez, originally from Katy, Texas, was the owner of Illusion Medical Equipment and Illusion Medical Equipment II, based in the Rio Grande Valley.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Gomez conducted a scheme from December 2007 to November 2011, where he and co-conspirators would submit false and fraudulent billings, and misuse identifying information of Medicaid recipients.
Gomez paid illegal kickbacks in exchange for patient information, including Medicaid numbers. They would then use this numbers to submit claims and receive reimbursements.