Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced the arrests of 20 defendants in a fraudulent transportation scheme that caused more than $5 million in losses to the Florida Medicaid program. An investigation by the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) uncovered that the defendants, led by Jose Enrique Hernandez Fernandez, operated a nonemergency medical transportation service that billed Medicaid for thousands of trips never provided. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department of Columbus, Georgia arrested the defendants. The MFCU investigation revealed that Jose Enrique Hernandez Fernandez owned Sweet Transportation, LLC, which contracted to provide non-emergency medical transportation services to Medicaid recipients. Over the course of at least two years, Hernandez Fernandez and Sweet Transportation, LLC employees billed Medicaid for thousands of trips never provided and inflated mileage on trips that were completed. GPS data uncovered in the investigation revealed that drivers frequently submitted claims for trips while staying at home, going on vacation, or traveling out of state.
