 |
Friday, September 3, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
|
|
|
Marketplace
Sections
AP News
Service Center
|
|
| |
|
Delgado, Rael assessed jail time
Published July 28, 2010
Two persons convicted in a health care fraud suit have been sentenced to federal jail time.
Sylvia Delgado, a former public school board trustee, and Roberto Rael, a co-conspirator in the case, were sentenced Tuesday to 51 months and 24 months jail time respectively for their roles in the crime.
Both have also been ordered by U.S. District Judge Alia Moses Ludlum to repay more than $1.4 million in restitution to the government, and serve three years of supervised release following completion of jail time.
In September 2009 a Del Rio jury convicted Delgado of all charges against her, including seven counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and two counts of providing false statements relating to health care matters.
Rael pleaded guilty in 2007 for his role in the scheme and testified against Delgado and Dr. Rafael Solis, who was found guilty on three counts of providing false statements relating to health care matters.
Ludlum postponed Solis’ sentencing until October after his attorney raised questions about the amount of restitution requested by the government.
All of the convictions in the case centered around operations at Synergy Counseling, which was supposed to provide group psychotherapy treatment to elderly patients. The government, however, presented a case that therapy never took place, and what was conducted equated to nothing more than adult day care services.
The government’s case against the trio showed they billed more than 49,000 claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services not rendered between January 2002 and September 2005, collecting more than $1.4 million that was split mostly between Delgado and Rael.
According to the case against her, Delgado was in charge of billing for the sessions through her company, MedComp Electronic Billing, which was located in the same suite at 104 Fletcher Drive as Synergy.
Before sentencing Delgado declined to make a comment to the court, instead having her attorney read letters of support from family and friends.
Delgado’s children pleaded for leniency for their mother in the letter, noting her commitment and compassion for her community, family and friends.
“We are pleading for your compassion,” Delgado’s attorney John Carroll read aloud. “Remember, when you sentence our mother, you are sentencing our whole family.”
Rael made a brief statement to the court prior to his sentencing.
“I’d just like to say I’m very remorseful and contrite for my involvement in this scheme,” Rael told the judge in his plea for leniency. “I feel I have been very cooperative…I am willing to accept any punishment...I’m ready to get this behind me and serve my sentence and become a productive citizen.”
Delgado and Rael will begin serving their sentences in October.
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|