Original Story: detroitnews.com
A West Bloomfield neurologist who reaped millions by allegedly cheating Medicare spent more than $9.3 million on baseball cards, ancient coins, collectable currency and stamps — a rare collection he could soon lose to the government. A medical malpractice lawyer is reviewing the details of this case.
Dr. Gavin Awerbuch amassed the collection — including coins from ancient Rome — using cash generated by an alleged five-year crime wave, according to federal court records that offer rare insight into the secretive world of coin collecting. At the upper end, the world is filled with hobbyists who, due to security concerns, protect the scope and value of their prized possessions.
Awerbuch's case shows a unique twist on a growing trend of health care professionals nationwide accused of spending money from fraudulent activities on valuable possessions, including homes and automobiles.
"This flabbergasts me. I never knew that his firepower extended that far," said Metro Detroit currency dealer Frederick Bart, who sold the doctor $360,225 worth of collectable currency printed before 1928. "He didn't have a target on his back where you thought 'here comes moneybags.' "
Federal prosecutors want the collection — experts say it could be among the richest in Michigan — forfeited to the government, along with $2.9 million in cash and a million-dollar Arizona vacation home.
Awerbuch, 57, is free on $10,000 unsecured bond. If convicted, he faces 10 years or more in federal prison. A preliminary exam has been set for June 29.
Though court records do not specify exactly which collectible items Awerbuch purchased, the extent of his coin collection is emerging more than one year after he was charged with health care fraud and distribution of controlled substances. A Medicaid and Medicare lawyer is following this story closely.
He was accused of defrauding Medicare of $7 million and prescribing so much of the cancer painkiller Subsys that he was the top dispenser in the country, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Awerbuch's defense lawyer, Mark Kriger, declined comment.
Newly filed court records show how Awerbuch spent money generated by allegedly fraudulent activity.
"(Sizable) purchases were made with dealers of rare and collectible coins, as well as dealers of other types of collectible items," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Grey wrote in a court filing. "These assets were purchased, at least in part, with criminally derived proceeds commingled in Awerbuch's various accounts." A Detroit insurance defense lawyer represents insurers in insurance fraud cases.
From 2008 through 2013, Awerbuch spent $9,343,527 at more than a dozen coin and collectible dealers in Michigan and across the country, according to court records.
The bulk, $7 million, was spent at Kagin's Inc. The California firm deals in rare coins, such as a pioneer gold coin for $999,999 and the first coin struck in North America, a shilling priced at $299,500.
"He was a good client," company President Donald Kagin told The News this week. "Over the years, we've had good transactions with him with different types of coins."
Kagin would not reveal what Awerbuch bought from his store, citing client confidentiality.
The collectibles Awerbuch purchased were spread across several locations. Federal agents struck gold — literally — during searches at several locations.
Investigators found gold and silver coins at his medical office in Saginaw, along with Roman coins honoring Emperors Titus and Claudius.
"If they are in nice condition, those can go for many thousands of dollars, and do," said Thomas Klunzinger, who serves on the board of the Michigan State Numismatic Society, which encourages and promotes the study and collection of currency. "Every dye was different. If you have a Roman coin, maybe it was highlighting some battle or commemorating a victory. Those (coins) were the media of the day."
Investigators also found a coin from ancient Judea, according to a search warrant inventory.
At his $1.1 million West Bloomfield home overlooking Upper Straits Lake, investigators found boxes of coins, stamps and Costa Rican currency, prosecutors allege.
Awerbuch stashed more coins, collectible currency, baseball cards, jewelry and stamps in at least 16 safe deposit boxes at PNC and Fifth Third banks, according to court records.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to have the coins and collectibles forfeited to the government, alleging the items were purchased with proceeds of a crime.
Federal prosecutors have not itemized the individual pieces of Awerbuch's collection.
Just a few coins could be worth millions, said Julianna Wostyn, president of the Michigan State Numismatic Society.
"You can spend a horrendous amount of money, and it doesn't have to be gold," she said. "When you're talking paper money, in the last 10 years, paper money has skyrocketed."
She has never heard of Awerbuch or met him at area conventions.
"People don't want to make themselves known," she said. "Number one: They don't want to be knocked over. I won't say they look homeless, but coin collectors are not flashy people and do not go about bragging about themselves."
Besides the coins, prosecutors want to keep almost $3 million seized from Awerbuch's bank accounts.
The money includes $622,800 seized after Awerbuch sold his home in July 2014.
Prosecutors also want the doctor to forfeit his home in the Arizona desert, saying it was purchased with money generated by health care fraud and unlawfully distributing prescription drugs. An insurance defense lawyer represents insurance companies in disputes and fraud cases.
His ex-wife is fighting the request, saying she is the innocent owner of the 4,700-square-foot home, which has a putting green, wine room, outdoor pool and waterfall.
Awerbuch bought the home two years ago for $940,000, according to court records.
He paid cash.
Showing posts with label Medicare Fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Medicare Fraud. Show all posts
23 June 2010
2 Guilty in $23M Michigan Medicare Fraud
Associated Press
Detroit -- A federal jury in Detroit has convicted two people of health care fraud and conspiracy.
The Justice Department said they billed Medicare for $23.2 million in fake therapy services.
The Justice Department said they billed Medicare for $23.2 million in fake therapy services.
Tuesday's verdict was against Bernice Brown and Daniel Smorynski. The government said Brown owned Wayne County Therapeutic Inc. in Livonia, a physical and occupational therapy clinic. Smorynski was vice president.
The government said they billed Medicare for physical and occupational therapy services in 2002-06 that the company didn't provide. It said Medicare paid more than $6 million in Medicare reimbursements between June 1, 2005, and May 31, 2006, according to one court filing.
The verdict stemmed from a $50 million Medicare fraud case unveiled by the federal government last year in which Metro Detroit was at the center. The fraud case involved 53 defendants -- 40 in local sweeps conducted June 24, 2009 -- and included four doctors. At the center were physical therapy and injection or infusion therapy clinics.
Federal court records filed in 2007 show federal agents seized more than $250,000 in cash and a 2006 Ford van from Brown in connection with a Medicare fraud investigation involving alleged billings for fictitious patients.
The charges carry up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Smorynski lawyer Thomas Warshaw declined comment. Phone and e-mail messages were left for Brown lawyer Fred B. Walker after business hours Tuesday.
The government said they billed Medicare for physical and occupational therapy services in 2002-06 that the company didn't provide. It said Medicare paid more than $6 million in Medicare reimbursements between June 1, 2005, and May 31, 2006, according to one court filing.
The verdict stemmed from a $50 million Medicare fraud case unveiled by the federal government last year in which Metro Detroit was at the center. The fraud case involved 53 defendants -- 40 in local sweeps conducted June 24, 2009 -- and included four doctors. At the center were physical therapy and injection or infusion therapy clinics.
Federal court records filed in 2007 show federal agents seized more than $250,000 in cash and a 2006 Ford van from Brown in connection with a Medicare fraud investigation involving alleged billings for fictitious patients.
The charges carry up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Smorynski lawyer Thomas Warshaw declined comment. Phone and e-mail messages were left for Brown lawyer Fred B. Walker after business hours Tuesday.
29 March 2010
Florida Woman gets Prison for Michigan Medicare Fraud
The Lansing State Journal
DETROIT - A Florida woman who stole millions of dollars from Medicare while running Detroit-area clinics expanded her scheme by setting up her daughter and son-in-law with their own fraud mill.
Profits came quickly: Over one year, Daisy Martinez [PICTURED] ripped off Medicare for $10.7 million at three clinics, and her daughter got $649,000 in just four months as they billed the government for sham drug treatments while luring desperate people off the street with cash, food and painkillers.
Martinez, 51, was sentenced Thursday to eight years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, who said he was "just appalled" by the evidence. The case shows it's not hard for unscrupulous people to fleece Medicare in Michigan - and that's the problem.
Settlements, fines and restitution in fraud cases added up to $4 billion nationally in the 2009 fiscal year, "just the tip of the iceberg," Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told Congress this month.
Court records describe a seemingly simple scheme in which Martinez migrated from the Miami area to cash in on the government's rich reimbursements for certain drug treatments given to Medicare beneficiaries. She moved to Michigan after authorities cracked down on similar scams in Florida.
In 2006-07, Martinez co-owned two clinics in suburban Detroit, Sacred Hope and X-Press Center, and had a share of another, Dearborn Medical Rehab Center. She admits lining up a doctor and dispatching recruiters to offer $50 or more to people with Medicare cards, many of them homeless, to lure them to the clinics.
The clinics regularly billed Medicare for treatments involving cosyntropin, a drug to diagnose problems with the adrenal gland. In fact, however, the treatments were not needed or never provided. Some people simply got vitamin shots.
Profits came quickly: Over one year, Daisy Martinez [PICTURED] ripped off Medicare for $10.7 million at three clinics, and her daughter got $649,000 in just four months as they billed the government for sham drug treatments while luring desperate people off the street with cash, food and painkillers.
Martinez, 51, was sentenced Thursday to eight years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, who said he was "just appalled" by the evidence. The case shows it's not hard for unscrupulous people to fleece Medicare in Michigan - and that's the problem.
Settlements, fines and restitution in fraud cases added up to $4 billion nationally in the 2009 fiscal year, "just the tip of the iceberg," Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told Congress this month.
Court records describe a seemingly simple scheme in which Martinez migrated from the Miami area to cash in on the government's rich reimbursements for certain drug treatments given to Medicare beneficiaries. She moved to Michigan after authorities cracked down on similar scams in Florida.
In 2006-07, Martinez co-owned two clinics in suburban Detroit, Sacred Hope and X-Press Center, and had a share of another, Dearborn Medical Rehab Center. She admits lining up a doctor and dispatching recruiters to offer $50 or more to people with Medicare cards, many of them homeless, to lure them to the clinics.
The clinics regularly billed Medicare for treatments involving cosyntropin, a drug to diagnose problems with the adrenal gland. In fact, however, the treatments were not needed or never provided. Some people simply got vitamin shots.
"Her conduct resulted in hundreds of medically unnecessary infusions to HIV and hepatitis C patients for worthless services. ... The purpose of these clinics was not to help sick patients but to steal money," Justice Department prosecutors said in a court filing.
Martinez and her partner, Jose Rosario, fled to their native country, the Dominican Republic, in 2007 after authorities became suspicious of the billings and froze their bank accounts. They returned to the U.S. after being indicted last year.
Martinez and Rosario pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Nine others, including a doctor and four Medicare recipients who got kickbacks to visit clinics, also pleaded guilty in the scam or were convicted at trial.
"She was a major player in a massive series of frauds," Justice Department lawyer John K. Neal said of Martinez.
$3.2 million recovered
The government has recovered $3.2 million. A "good deal" of the rest was likely hidden overseas, Neal said. Martinez's lawyer, Juan Gonzalez of Miami, said she only got $1 million.
"I just want to apologize. ... I accept my responsibility but not for the other persons," said Martinez, speaking in Spanish.
As she spoke, jury selection began six floors below in a case against a doctor who worked at a sham clinic in Canton Township run by her daughter, Denisse Martinez and then-husband Jose Martinez. They have pleaded guilty to fraud and will be sentenced in April.
Like Daisy Martinez, the couple had no medical expertise. Denisse Martinez told investigators the fraud was "very obvious" because patients were driven to the clinic and there were no walk-ins, FBI agent Justin Shammot said in a court filing.
Jose Martinez said "he didn't want to hurt or kill any patients but ultimately only wanted to make lots of money," Shammot wrote.
The government has recovered $3.2 million. A "good deal" of the rest was likely hidden overseas, Neal said. Martinez's lawyer, Juan Gonzalez of Miami, said she only got $1 million.
"I just want to apologize. ... I accept my responsibility but not for the other persons," said Martinez, speaking in Spanish.
As she spoke, jury selection began six floors below in a case against a doctor who worked at a sham clinic in Canton Township run by her daughter, Denisse Martinez and then-husband Jose Martinez. They have pleaded guilty to fraud and will be sentenced in April.
Like Daisy Martinez, the couple had no medical expertise. Denisse Martinez told investigators the fraud was "very obvious" because patients were driven to the clinic and there were no walk-ins, FBI agent Justin Shammot said in a court filing.
Jose Martinez said "he didn't want to hurt or kill any patients but ultimately only wanted to make lots of money," Shammot wrote.
Rules to be tightened
The director in charge of the Michigan Medicare program's integrity, Kimberly Brandt, said the new health care law will tighten rules on who can join the program, a move that should reduce the likelihood of fraud.
"Medicare was set up as a trust-based, any-willing-provider system," Brandt said in an interview. "The goal was to allow the widest possible array of providers and suppliers into the program so senior citizens would have as wide a choice as possible. ... Unfortunately, there are people who willfully take advantage of the system."
The director in charge of the Michigan Medicare program's integrity, Kimberly Brandt, said the new health care law will tighten rules on who can join the program, a move that should reduce the likelihood of fraud.
"Medicare was set up as a trust-based, any-willing-provider system," Brandt said in an interview. "The goal was to allow the widest possible array of providers and suppliers into the program so senior citizens would have as wide a choice as possible. ... Unfortunately, there are people who willfully take advantage of the system."
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