Two Florida men, Nicholas A. Alberino, 61, of Boca Raton, and his son Nicholas P. Alberino, 34, of Parkland, were arraigned Tuesday on multiple charges in connection with a multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud scheme. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, the father and son duo are facing a seven-count indictment, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, among other charges.
The indictment details how the Alberinos operated five Florida-based companies between February 2018 and April 2019. They generated medically unnecessary prescriptions for expensive medications and durable medical equipment (DME) by using a telemarketing and telemedicine scheme targeting Medicare beneficiaries.
Through call centers, the Alberinos pressured Medicare beneficiaries to accept costly medications and DME. They then transmitted personal information, along with pre-written prescriptions and doctor’s orders, to RediDoc LLC, a telemedicine company. Instead of prescribing based on medical necessity, the Alberinos selected items with high reimbursement potential, particularly from Medicare.
The prescription orders were sent to doctors who typically signed them without ever evaluating the patients. The Alberinos then directed RediDoc to forward these fraudulent prescriptions to third-party suppliers and pharmacies with whom they had kickback arrangements.
In total, the Alberinos paid over $6 million in bribes and received over $27 million from third-party sources. They also submitted fraudulent claims for more than $1.7 million to Medicare, which paid out at least $27 million based on these false claims.
The Alberinos are now facing serious charges that could result in significant penalties, including lengthy prison sentences.