Daniel Pintado Cazola (42) was sentenced to 87 months in prison for his role in using a durable medical equipment company to commit Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and trying to conceal his connection to the crime by listing a straw owner in corporate and bank records. Myers Professional Services was established as a durable medical equipment (DME) company in Ft. Myers, Florida. To conceal Pintado’s role as the true owner who exercised control over the DME company (and the fraud), a nominee or “straw” owner was listed as the owner of Myers Professional Services on its corporate records and bank account. As part of his guilty plea, Pintado admitted that he — and not a straw owner — purchased lists of Medicare “patients” and then directed a “biller” to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment that was not being prescribed by a doctor, that was not medically necessary, and that was not being supplied to any Medicare beneficiary or Medicaid recipient.
During a three-month period — from November 2021 and February 2022 — and under Pintado’s direction, Myers Professional Services submitted over $2.3 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. The DME company was paid over $1.6 million through February 2022, when Pintado was arrested. The proceeds of the fraud were transferred from the Myers Professional Services account to accounts held in the names of shell companies. Then, those proceeds were withdrawn from the shell company accounts by others so that it could not be traced to Pintado.
