Florida Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years for $10.8 Million Medicare

A Florida man has been handed a sentence of over 17 years for his involvement in a large-scale Medicare fraud scheme. Lino Mallari Gutierrez, known as “Joe Gutierrez,” age 59, from Palm City will also have to pay restitution totaling more than $5.6 million, following his conviction on eleven health care fraud-related offenses which include conspiracy, health care fraud, and paying illegal kickbacks, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The fraudulent operation, spanning from October 2018 to April 2019, saw Gutierrez and fellow conspirators fabricate DME (durable medical equipment) companies that submitted false claims to Medicare, amounting to over $10.8 million, for equipment beneficiaries neither wanted nor needed; the deception was partly fueled through the payment of kickbacks, telemarketing to identify potential beneficiaries, and misappropriation of personal identifying information to file bogus claims. To further the scheme, fraudulent doctors’ orders were obtained using telemarketing and sham telemedicine companies, while Gutierrez, additionally being a licensed broker, masked his illicit activities by falsifying records with his employer and a private regulatory organization.

In a coordinated nationwide law enforcement effort called “Operation Brace Yourself,” officers targeted operations similar to that of Gutierrez’s fraudulent enterprise; the effort included search warrants and civil actions primarily in the Middle District of Florida, where multiple DME storefronts were scrutinized, and one such operation took place on April 9, 2019. Before “Operation Brace Yourself,” Gutierrez had ambitions to expand his fraudulent empire by creating an additional six DME companies. Furthermore, he and his co-conspirators laundered the revenue from their Medicare-related scams to conceal the ill-gotten gains from governmental oversight.

Ryan Lynch, Acting Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, underscored the severity of the crime by stating, “The sentencing underscores HHS-OIG’s commitment to protecting patients and taxpayers from fraudulent schemes that exploit our health care system and are motivated by pure greed,” highlighting their ongoing dedication to investigate individuals and entities profiting from deceptive practices. The FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor also condemned the act, expressing that such schemes ultimately hurt everyone as “When federally funded healthcare systems are cheated, we ALL pay the price”—the FBI remains steadfast in their resolve to pursue and prosecute those who exploit the health care system.

The cooperative investigation that lead up to Gutierrez’s sentencing and the notable “Operation Brace Yourself” crackdown was a combined effort between the FBI and the HHS-OIG, with Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Peresie and Trial Attorney Margaret Mortimer of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Fraud Section overseeing the prosecution.