Roberto Rodriguez, 54, the Miami physician involved in the 10-million, HIV infusion services Medicare fraud case, was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday, including being ordered to pay over $9-million in restitution.
 
Indicted in February, along with two other doctors, he pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to commit health care fraud.
 
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Rodriguez was co-owner and physician at Midway Medical Centre, a Miami clinic purporting to specialize in the treatment of HIV patients.
 
Rodriguez has admitted that he and his co-conspirators at Midway, billed Medicare for services that in many instances were never provided and were medically unnecessary.  According to the news release, he also admitted to purchasing only a small amount of the drugs, he claimed to administer to patients, including falsifying medical records.
 
As well, Rodriguez has admitted that between October 2003 and February 2005 he engaged in similar activities, listed as medical director and practicing physician for five other Miami-area HIV infusion clinics, filing over $20-million in false claims.
 
Several of Rodriguez’s co-defendants have already been convicted for their roles at Midway and related clinics, where he and his five co-conspirators recruited patients, paid kick-backs and manipulated records to bilk Medicare, costing the government programme millions of dollars.
 
Dr. Carmen del Cueto, another physician involved in the racket, is scheduled to be sentenced in September.