The former operator of three Miami-area home health agencies was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his involvement in a $57 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Khaled Elbeblawy, 40, will pay more than $36 million in restitution in addition to serving time for billing Medicare for home health services that were medically unnecessary or never provided. Elbeblawy was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay kickbacks after a two-week trial in January. He faced up to 25 years in prison for those convictions.
Federal prosecutors showed that Elbeblawy's three now-defunct home health agencies paid kickbacks to doctors and patient recruiters for referrals, in addition to the false billings. All in all, they received approximately $40 million for the services after submitting $57 million in false and fraudulent Medicare claims between 2006 and 2013.
Elbeblawy's ex-business partner, Eulises Escalona, is serving a 10-year prison sentence. He pled guilty to fraud in 2012.