A doctor from Miami will spend the next five years in federal prison for his role in directing a massive $38 million health care fraud scheme.
Dr. Armando Valdes was sentenced Wednesday after running a six-year scheme through Gasiel Medical Services Corp., a medical clinic in Miami he owned and operated.
Valdes used the money for several real estate properties, including a beachfront condo in Pompano Beach, and several luxury vehicles.
According to the United States Attorney's Office Southern District, Valdes submitted the fraudulent claims to United Healthcare and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida for infusions of the prescription drug Infliximab.
Get South Florida local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC South Florida newsletters.
A single dose of Infliximab can have a retail price of $10,000, according to investigators.
After entering a guilty plea in court, Valdes admitted he never provided a single infusion of the drug while employing a 91-year-old physician who never treated patients but was listed as the "rendering provider" of the drug on all paperwork.
