{"id":2548211,"date":"2026-01-22T18:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-nursing-assistant-guilty-of-bilking-millions-in-medicare-funds\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T18:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T23:33:47","slug":"florida-nursing-assistant-guilty-of-bilking-millions-in-medicare-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-nursing-assistant-guilty-of-bilking-millions-in-medicare-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida nursing assistant guilty of bilking millions in Medicare funds"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflorida-nursing-assistant-guilty-of-bilking-millions-in-medicare-funds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2548211&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-bureau-of-land-management-nominee-tracy-stone-manning-was-involved-in-eco-terrorism-case-resulted-in-college-roommates-conviction-prison-sentence-court-records-show\/\" title=\"Biden Bureau Of Land Management Nominee Tracy Stone-Manning Was Involved In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case, Resulted In College Roommate\u2019s Conviction, Prison Sentence, Court Records Show\">federal jury found<\/a> Fort Lauderdale nursing assistant Christian Cruz guilty of running a Medicare fraud scheme that generated about $11.4 million. Cruz was convicted on nine counts, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, and faces up to 125 years in prison. Prosecutors say he shipped orthotic braces to beneficiaries who neither requested nor needed them,falsified doctors&#8217; orders through illegal kickbacks,and used telemedicine companies and stolen electronic signatures to obtain prescriptions. Investigators allege cruz hid that he co-owned the company with jorge Luis Almansa, a convicted felon who remains at large; the FBI and HHS inspector general led the probe. U.S. prosecutors emphasized that the scheme robbed seniors and abused medical professionals&#8217; positions of trust.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Florida nursing assistant convicted of stealing millions in Medicare fraud scheme<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2477890\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A federal jury found <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\">a Florida<\/a> healthcare worker guilty of defrauding the state of over $11 million in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/medicare\/\">Medicare funds<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Christian Cruz faces up to 125 years in prison after he was convicted of running a medical equipment supplier operation in which he shipped orthotic braces to Medicare beneficiaries nationwide, including those &ldquo;who neither requested nor required the braces,&rdquo; and then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-navy-nurse-sentenced-in-2-million-military-health-insurance-fraud\/\" title=\"Former Navy nurse sentenced for M military health insurance fraud.\">submitted false claims<\/a> to receive payment from the government, according to federal prosecutors. <\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4429632\/trump-administration-takes-credit-for-largest-ever-drop-murder-rate\/\">Trump administration takes credit for largest-ever drop in murder rate<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4427982\/clintons-face-congressional-contempt-defying-epstein-investigation\/\">Democrats back contempt vote against Clintons over Epstein investigation<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4426803\/mississippi-synagogue-arson-suspect-not-guilty-plea\/\">Man accused of setting fire to Mississippi synagogue pleads not guilty<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >inspector general&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s office led the investigation into Cruz, who was convicted on nine charges, including conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Healthcare fraud is not a paperwork offense&mdash;it is a crime that steals from seniors and undermines confidence in our healthcare system,&rdquo; U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Qui&ntilde;ones for the Southern District of Florida said <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/florida-nursing-assistant-convicted-114m-health-care-fraud-scheme-targeting-medicare\">in a statement<\/a> announcing Cruz&rsquo;s conviction on Thursday. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The jury&rsquo;s verdict makes clear that medical professionals who abuse their positions of trust for personal gain will face serious consequences,&rdquo; Qui&ntilde;ones said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Fort Lauderdale nursing assistant faked doctors&rsquo; orders for the braces through illegal kickbacks, allowing his operation to rake in $11.4 million, authorities said. <\/p>\n<p>Cruz and his colleague, Jorge Luis Almansa, paid &ldquo;marketers,&rdquo; who used telemedicine companies to get the orders without the prescribing doctor ever seeing the patient, and in some cases, used &ldquo;the electronic signature of a beneficiary&rsquo;s own doctor without that doctor&rsquo;s permission,&rdquo; according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4413573\/trumps-foreign-policy-threatens-grip-congressional-republicans\/\"><strong>TRUMP&rsquo;S FOREIGN POLICY THREATENS GRIP ON CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Investigators said Cruz lied about being the sole owner of the company, hiding that he co-owned the enterprise with Almansa, a convicted felon. Almansa remains at large.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Medicare would not have allowed the company to enroll with Medicare if it had known about Cruz&rsquo;s co-conspirator, a fact that would have barred Medicare enrollment,&rdquo; the Department of Justice said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida aide convicted in $11M Medicare fraud<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2548212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP25171814042246.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[62956,63701,70802],"class_list":["post-2548211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-florida-crime","tag-healthcare-fraud","tag-medicare-fraud"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP25171814042246.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2548211"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2548218,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2548211\/revisions\/2548218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2548212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2548211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2548211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2548211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}