Havana/The Cuban regime came out this Wednesday to reject as “slander” the accusations launched from Washington about a possible connection between Havana and fraud in the Medicare program in South Florida. In a statement dated April 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that United States Government officials “speculate, without any evidence” about possible Cuban involvement in these crimes and presented the Island as a partner willing to cooperate against transnational crime.
Castro’s response came after the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Mehmet Oz, stated in a television interview that in South Florida there is “rampant” fraud to the detriment of the federal public health insurance program and that the US Administration believes that “the Cuban Government could be involved” in this scheme.
Although there are criminal networks with Cuban actors and connections with the Island, there is still no public and formal judicial accusation against the Cuban State as the organizer of the crime. What is underway is a federal offensive against healthcare fraud and growing alarm about the Dmepos sector – durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthoses and supplies – one of the niches most vulnerable to multimillion-dollar scams.
For years, Cuba has functioned as a refuge, escape point or zone of opacity for defendants linked to health fraud in Florida
A federal notice published to justify new restrictions on supplier registration makes clear that fraud at Dmepos remains a “major concern.” That document contains warnings about orthoses, catheters and other supplies billed without medical necessity, without sufficient documentation or through fraudulent schemes that have already cost the program millions.
For years, Cuba has functioned as a refuge, flight point or zone of opacity for defendants linked to health fraud in Florida. An investigation reviewed by Fierce Healthcare In 2015, he cited FBI estimates according to which between 30 and 50 fugitives for health fraud had fled to the Island. This data reinforces the suspicion that Havana functions as a refuge to evade US Justice.
More recently, in March 2024, the Department of Justice reported the extradition from Spain of Cuban Ariel Nuñez-Finalet, sentenced to 36 months in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud and electronic fraud. When he was charged in April 2016 I had already fled to Cubawhere he lived for several years before moving to Mexico in 2022. In March 2023 he traveled to Spain, where he was eventually arrested upon arrival under an Interpol red notice.
Cuba appears as the probable whereabouts of several fugitives accused of health fraud
The defense of the Cuban Foreign Ministry is based on a half-truth. Havana maintains that it has acted against people linked to Medicare fraud, but avoids giving details and avoids any verifiable balance of this alleged cooperation with Washington.
The clearest precedent does not exactly favor the regime. The case of Orelvis Olivera Amador, convicted in the United States for a 7.3 million dollar scam, shows that part of that money managed to settle in Cuba with absolute comfort, converted into properties, bank accounts and businesses managed by front men. If the Cuban Justice intervened in 2019, it was not to prevent the fraud from taking root on the Island, but when it had already left behind a visible trail of assets, complicities and recycled money.
In the current list of fugitives of the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Health, Cuba appears as the probable whereabouts of several accused of health fraud. Among them are Amaury Pérez, prosecuted for conspiracy to commit health fraud and money laundering; Manuel B. Aneiros López, wanted for health fraud; Maricel Beatriz Hernández, accused of conspiracy, health fraud and money laundering; Luciano Velázquez, accused of health fraud, false statements and aggravated identity; and Bárbaro Ortega, also accused of conspiracy and health fraud.
