Damian Williams, america Legal professional for the Southern District of New York, introduced that CHRISTOPHER MARGAIT was sentenced immediately to 65 months in jail for conspiracy to commit well being care fraud by fraudulently trafficking in orders for sturdy medical tools akin to again, knee, and wrist braces. MARGAIT beforehand pled responsible to the cost and was sentenced immediately earlier than United States District Decide Denise Cote.
U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams mentioned: “Christopher Margait confronted justice immediately for illegally promoting orders for sturdy medical tools and thus defrauding Medicare of not less than $7 million. Such fraud schemes do actual hurt to Medicare—a significant, taxpayer-funded program that gives inexpensive well being care to folks over 65 or with disabilities.”
Based on statements made in court docket and publicly filed paperwork on this case:
From not less than August 2019 by way of Might 2021, MARGAIT and his co-defendant, Matthew Taylor Witkowski, engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare by illegally acquiring and promoting fraudulent orders for sturdy medical tools (“DME”) paid for by Medicare. Utilizing a enterprise that he collectively owned and operated with Witkowski, and a name middle that Witkowski operated within the Dominican Republic, MARGAIT illegally generated and bought fraudulent orders for DME after which offered these fraudulent orders to pharmacies and DME suppliers, together with suppliers in New York Metropolis. These pharmacies and DME suppliers then used these fraudulent orders as the idea for not less than $7 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare. Many of those fraudulent orders used names and private well being data of precise Medicare beneficiaries, with out the beneficiaries’ authorization or prior data. Many of those fraudulent orders additionally contained skilled data of docs and different health-care suppliers enrolled within the Medicare program, in addition to the purported digital signatures of those suppliers, which have been falsified and created with out the authorization or data of those suppliers.
Through the course of the scheme, MARGAIT and Witkowski acquired greater than $3.8 million in unlawful kickbacks from DME suppliers, who made these funds to True Prospects Advertising and marketing, Inc., an organization managed by MARGAIT and Witkowski.
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MARGAIT, 45, of West Palm Seaside, Florida, pled responsible on June 2, 2022, to a single rely of conspiracy to commit well being care fraud. As well as, MARGAIT was sentenced to a few years of supervised launch and ordered to pay forfeiture of $3,853,442 and restitution of $7,000,000 to the Medicare program.
Witkowski, 38, a U.S. citizen who resided within the Dominican Republic since he was in faculty, was sentenced on April 20, 2023 to 60 months in jail and three years of supervised launch. He was additionally ordered to pay forfeiture of $4,065,995 and restitution of $8,131,990 to the Medicare program.
Mr. Williams praised the excellent investigative work of the Workplace of the Inspector Basic of the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Providers.
This case is being dealt with by the Workplace’s Complicated Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Legal professional David Raymond Lewis is in command of the prosecution.