A federal judge has sentenced a Miami man to 50 years in prison for his role in a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Friday's sentence is the longest ever imposed in a Medicare fraud strike force case.
Authorities say 49-year-old Lawrence Duran orchestrated an elaborate scam, forging patient files for mentally ill people to make them appear to qualify for Medicare sleep studies. His company, American Therapeutic Corporation, allegedly paid kickbacks to assisted living facilities for sending ineligible patients to his mental health facility.
A sentencing for co-owner Marianella Valera is scheduled for next week. The two were arrested in a massive bust last fall.
Duran was also ordered to pay more than $87 million in restitution at Friday's sentencing.
