STUART, Fla. — A federal judge sentenced a Florida medical equipment supply company owner to spend more than four-and-a-half years in prison after prosecutors said he defrauded Medicare out of more than $2.2 million.
Ariel Madero Paez, 56, was the owner of Always Medical Supply in Stuart, according to prosecutors.
Madero submitted $2.2 million in claims to Medicare for equipment that the company never provided and that Medicare beneficiaries never requested, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Always Medical Supply got $1.4 million as a result.
Federal agents arrested Madero May 6 at Miami International Airport.
In addition to the prison term and three years supervised release, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks ordered Madero to pay $1.5 million in restitution to Medicare and entered a forfeiture judgment of nearly $1.5 million.
Federal agents already seized funds from Madero’s bank accounts.
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