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Father-Son Face Federal Charges in $28M Million Health Care Fraud
Nicholas A. Alberino and son Nicholas P. Alberino allegedly exploited Medicare through kickbacks and fraudulent medical equipment prescriptions.
Nicholas A. Alberino, 61, of Boca Raton, Florida, and his son, Nicholas P. Alberino, 34, of Parkland, Florida, were arraigned Tuesday, November 12, 2024, in Newark federal court on multiple charges, including health care fraud, wire fraud, and violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
Each pleaded not guilty to the seven-count indictment. The charges stem from an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare of $28 million by submitting claims for unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) and costly medications between February 2018 and April 2019.
According to court documents and statements, the Alberinos operated five Florida-based companies that generated unneeded prescriptions through a network of call centers. These call centers reportedly targeted Medicare beneficiaries, pressuring them to accept costly DME items, such as orthotic braces, and certain medications.
The Alberinos are accused of transmitting beneficiaries' personal information and pre-written prescriptions to RediDoc LLC, a telemedicine company. RediDoc allegedly forwarded these documents to doctors, who signed the prescriptions without patient contact or genuine medical assessment. The Alberinos then directed RediDoc to send these signed prescriptions to select DME suppliers and pharmacies with whom they held illicit kickback and bribe agreements.
The indictment further alleges that the Alberinos paid RediDoc over $6 million in kickbacks to facilitate the scheme. In turn, they received over $27 million from third-party DME suppliers and pharmacies, along with $1.7 million from Medicare directly through their DME companies.
The health care fraud and wire fraud charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years each, while the Anti-Kickback Statute violations could result in additional sentences of up to 10 years per count. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000 or double the financial gain from the offense.
The defendants remain presumed innocent unless proven guilty, as charges are currently based on accusations within the indictment.
