Dr. Americo Oms-Rivera, 67, was sentenced to five years probation by District Judge Francisco A. Besosa for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, US attorney for the Puerto Rico District.
Oms-Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on October 23, 2020.
As part of the sentence imposed, Oms-Rivera will pay $ 321,000 in refund in favor of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and a fine of $ 7,500 payable in 60 days. Oms-Rivera will also lose property on Harbor Lights Estate in Palmas Del Mar, Humacao; You enter your DEA license and are banned from participating in SSA, Medicare, Medicaid, and all other federal health care programs.
The events date back to August 2016, when a federal grand jury in the district of Puerto Rico answered a formal 16 count indictment calling Dr. Oms-Rivera, his secretary Mayte González Muñoz and Francisco Cabrera Alvarado, a former Social Security employee, were accused. Administration (SSA), due to fraud in the application process for SSA disability insurance in Puerto Rico.
González-Muñoz and Cabrera Alvarado pleaded guilty in March 2017. As part of this settlement, Oms-Rivera admitted to including outdated data in the medical records of patients who applied for disability insurance by making fictitious medical appointments that were never completed. This was done to give the appearance of a longer history of medical treatment and to deceive the SSA into approving the disability insurance policies.
The SSA provides monetary benefits to employees with severe long-term disabilities, who have worked for a required period of time in work covered by the SSA.
“This defendant has misused the trust placed in him as a professional for personal gain. We thank our law enforcement partners for their extraordinary efforts and commitment to this case, ”said US attorney Muldrow.
“This statement reflects the years of work by our investigators and the US Attorney to end this plan to defraud taxpayers and hold the perpetrators to account,” said Inspector General Ennis. “We will continue to uphold the integrity of SSA’s disability programs by aggressively seeking out facilitators in the claims process who abuse the trust placed in them.”
United States Special Assistant Attorney Vanessa D. Bonano-Rodríguez of the Social Security Administration was charged with prosecuting the case.
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