A South Florida federal grand jury has charged Mirosis Gonzalez, 58, and her daughter Berioska Sosa, 32, with paying kickbacks in exchange for referrals of Medicare beneficiaries to their pharmacy, then using the referrals to steal millions from Medicare. Gonzalez and Sosa owned and operated Aviva Care Pharmacy (which did business under the name American Care Pharmacy) in Sunrise, Florida. Gonzalez, who lives in Palm Beach County, was the listed President and Registered Agent of Aviva Care Pharmacy. Sosa, who lives in Broward County, was the listed Manager.
According to the indictment, from August 2016 through May 2020, the defendants paid kickbacks and bribes to marketing and telemedicine companies in exchange for their referring Medicare beneficiaries, as well as doctors’ orders and prescriptions, to Aviva Care Pharmacy. It is alleged that the bribed companies sent, and Aviva accepted, orders for expensive durable medical equipment (DME) and prescriptions for pharmaceutical medication, without considering medical necessity or Medicare reimbursement eligibility. The defendants negotiated the kickback and bribe arrangements with the companies and created sham contracts meant to disguise the bribes as payments for marketing and other services, says the indictment. According to the allegations, Gonzalez and Sosa submitted over $12 million in false claims to Medicare and Aviva Care Pharmacy received payments totaling more than $8.4 million.
