Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Miami Herald - February 20, 2008
Jay Weaver, jweaver@MiamiHerald.com
"In Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties we probably have three of the busiest counties in fraud in the United States," the Florida Republican told reporters at Miami Dade College.
He said of the federal government's estimated $60 billion Medicare fraud claims a year, about $12 billion originate in Florida.
Martinez, who met with U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta in Miami, said a bill he sponsored would increase the maximum criminal sentence for Medicare fraud from five to ten years, double civil fines to $20,000 per claim and quadruple criminal fines to $100,000. The Senate last week passed the bill.
Martinez also noted that while South Florida accounts for 8 percent of the nation's AIDS population, 72 percent of all Medicare claims for HIV infusions originate in the region.
"That just goes to show the magnitude of the fraud in South Florida," he said.
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