A Miami physician was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison and her nurse received seven years in prison for their roles in an $11 million HIV infusion fraud scheme. The 30-year sentence is one of the longest terms ever given to a physician in a federal Medicare fraud case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Ana Alvarez-Jacinto, 54, and Sandra Mateos, 44, were sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by Chief District Judge Federico Moreno. Both also were ordered to serve three years of supervised release following their prison terms and pay $8.3 million in restitution to the Medicare program. In October, a Miami jury found the two guilty on one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., submit false claims and pay health care kickbacks; and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Alvarez-Jacinto also was convicted of three counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program. The two worked at St. Jude Rehab Center, a Miami clinic that claimed to specialize in treating AIDS patients. It was owned and operated by Carlos and Luis Benitez, and managed by convicted co-conspirators Aisa Perera and Mariela Rodriguez.
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