Charges filed against clinical lab in Humacao for Medicaid fraud exceeding $100,000
- The San Juan Daily Star
- Aug 7
- 1 min read
By The Star Staff
The island Department of Justice filed 28 criminal charges on Wednesday against the Laboratorio Clínico Central II corporation in Humacao for an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme resulting in the illegal appropriation of $103,629 between January 2020 and December 2023.
“The collaboration of the public is key to identifying this type of scheme, which, in addition to generating distrust in the health system, generates a loss of funds for real services and diverts government resources that should go directly to the public,” Justice Secretary Lourdes Gómez Torres said in a written statement.
The agency indicated that the laboratory allegedly submitted fraudulent claims to the Mennonite Health Plan and First Medical plans. As part of the scheme, the identities of doctors and patients were stolen to bill for unsolicited and unauthorized services.
Judge Juan León González of the San Juan Court of First Instance found cause for arrest. The preliminary hearing will be held on Aug. 20.
According to the Justice Department, the scheme was detected through a referral from the Health Integrity Program.
The investigation was led by prosecutor Brenda Rosado Aponte, agent Rosalía Berenguer Zurita of the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and agent Fernando Vázquez Barreto of the Office of the Federal Health Inspector General.
Comments