S. Florida man added to most-wanted list for Medicare fraud
The federal government has added a Miami-Dade County man to its list of 10 most-wanted fugitives accused of healthcare fraud, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday.
Jorge Portillo, 38, and Scarlet Regalado used their Hialeah-based company to falsely bill Medicare for more than $2 million of medical equipment that was never provided to patients, said Katherine Harris, a spokeswoman for HHS’ Office of Inspector General.
Regalado was sentenced to 57 months in prison in 2009, but Portillo escaped capture.
Four of the 10 fugitives on HHS’ most-wanted list are believed to have committed crimes in South Florida, which is known as a hotbed of healthcare fraud.
This article was produced in collaboration with Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.
This story was originally published November 19, 2014 at 2:27 PM with the headline "S. Florida man added to most-wanted list for Medicare fraud."