A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida convicted Joseph Rodriguez, 58, of Coral Springs, for his role in a scheme that billed Medicare more than $15 million for blood tests patients did not want or need, as reported by Townhall.

Rodriguez served as vice president of a testing laboratory while owning and operating a separate marketing company.

Court documents and trial evidence showed that Rodriguez targeted elderly patients at residential country clubs in the West Palm Beach area. Those patients were seeking COVID-19 nasal swab and blood antibody tests during the pandemic.

Rodriguez organized drive-through testing events at the clubs through his marketing company, Phoenix Health.

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Patients who registered for COVID-19 testing were also subjected to tens or even hundreds of additional blood tests that they had neither requested nor needed.

The additional testing ranged from hormone tests to heavy metal tests for arsenic, mercury, and cadmium.

Medicare was billed for those procedures as though they were medically necessary and had been ordered by a treating physician, even though no doctor had ordered them as required.

Trial evidence showed that Rodriguez marketed the COVID-19 events to the residential country clubs and arranged the testing operations.

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He also directed his staff to draw additional blood for the unnecessary tests and caused a doctor’s name to be fraudulently placed on claims submitted to Medicare.

The claims involved testing performed at nine different clubs over approximately four months and affected almost 2,000 patients. Medicare received bills totaling more than $15 million and paid over $500,000 on the claims.

Prosecutors presented patient complaints that had been sent to Rodriguez. The evidence also included complaints from a doctor who questioned why Medicare had been billed thousands of dollars for tests supposedly ordered in the doctor’s name.

Managers at the residential country clubs also confronted Rodriguez about the additional blood tests.

Their members had sought COVID-19 testing, not the wide collection of other procedures being performed and billed.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division said, “The defendant took advantage of patients desperate for COVID-19 tests at the height of the pandemic to bill Medicare for unnecessary blood tests.”

McDonald added, “Such egregious conduct in the face of a global pandemic cannot stand and will be prosecuted. The Fraud Division remains committed to holding the perpetrators of such schemes accountable.”

Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said the scheme exploited vulnerable patients during a national public health crisis.

Bennett said Rodriguez placed personal gain above the well-being of elderly individuals and threatened the integrity of the health care system.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles said the verdict held Rodriguez accountable for exploiting patients and fraudulently billing Medicare for millions of dollars.

Skiles also credited the strength of the evidence and pledged continued efforts to protect patients and federal health care programs.

The jury convicted Rodriguez of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six substantive counts of health care fraud. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The court will schedule a sentencing hearing for a later date in January 2027. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Deputy Chief James V. Hayes and Trial Attorney Claire Horrell of the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department announced the Fraud Division’s creation on April 7, describing it as laser-focused on prosecuting fraud against the American people.

That work supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance.

The Justice Department’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program currently includes nine strike forces and has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007.

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