COVID-19 relief money used for Medicare fraud, feds say

COCONUT CREEK — A 37-year-old Coconut Creek man is facing f e d e ra l c h a rg e s for COVID-19 Relief and Health Care fraud.

Carlos Belone was arrested Friday and accused of seeking several Paycheck Protection Program loans, part of which he intended to use in a scheme to defraud Medicare of at least $5 million.

He is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, payment of health care kickbacks, and making false statements to a financial institution, federal prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Belone owned R&S Pharmacy and applied for several fraudulent PPP loans using fake tax documents and phony profit and loss statements for his business, receiving over $22,000 in PPP loans, using part of the money to perpetuate the Medicare fraud and pocketing the rest.

Belone is also accused of billing Medicare for orthotic braces that were either medically unnecessary, ineligible for Medicare reimbursement and/or not provided to patients.

Some patients told investigators they did not want or need orthotic braces and had not authorized the use of their Medicare numbers for the braces. Others said they did not receive the braces they did order.

Anyone with information about a t t e mp t e d fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721.