Miami Area Docs Sentenced For Medicare Fraud Scam
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Two Miami area doctors have been sentenced to a decade in prison for their part in $205 million Medicare fraud scam.
Dr. Mark Willner, 56, and Dr. Alberto Ayala, 68, are the former medical directors of the mental health care company American Therapeutic Corporation.
U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz ordered Willner to pay more than $57 million in restitution and Ayala to pay more than $87 million in restitution, both jointly and severally with their co-defendants.
Willner and Ayala were also both sentenced to three years of supervised release following their prison terms.
Both men were convicted last June of one count each of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
During their trial prosecutors presented evidence which showed that Wilner, Ayala and their co-conspirators submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare through ATC, which operated purported partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) in seven different locations throughout South Florida and Orlando.
A PHP is a form of intensive treatment for severe mental illness. The defendants and their co-conspirators also submitted fraudulent Medicare claims through a related company, American Sleep Institute (ASI).
Evidence at trial revealed that ATC secured patients by paying kickbacks to assisted living facility owners and halfway house owners who would then steer patients to ATC.
ATC, the management company associated with ATC, and 20 individuals, including the ATC owners, have all previously pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial.
