Florida Man Sentenced in Newark for Laundering Nearly Half a Million in Medicare Fraud Proceeds

Thomas Farese, 83, receives two-year prison term and over $1.3 million in restitution for laundering funds tied to fraudulent medical equipment billing scheme.

NEWARK, N.J. — An 83-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for laundering proceeds from a multimillion-dollar health care fraud and kickback scheme that defrauded Medicare and other insurers through the sale of unnecessary medical equipment, according to a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba.

Thomas Farese, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Newark on charges of money laundering. In addition to the prison term, Farese will serve six months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,314,000 in restitution to the victims and forfeit $495,000, which prosecutors identified as proceeds of the fraud.

Details of the Case

According to court documents and statements made during the proceedings, Farese was an investor in a durable medical equipment (DME) company linked to a wide-ranging fraudulent billing scheme. The company was operated by Aaron Williamsky, Nadia Levit, and others who submitted claims to Medicare and other insurers for orthotic braces—such as those for knees, backs, and elbows—that were not medically necessary and, in many cases, not wanted by the patients who received them.

Federal authorities arrested Williamsky, Levit, and their co-conspirators in April 2019. Farese became aware of the fraudulent conduct following these arrests and discussed it with his business partner, Patsy Truglia, who has also been convicted in connection with the scheme. Despite this knowledge, Farese accepted $495,000 into his bank account that originated from the fraudulent operations.

Investigation and Prosecution

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Newark Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).

The sentencing was handed down by U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Ecker of the Health Care Fraud & Opioids Abuse Prevention Unit in Newark, and Darren C. Halverson, Acting Assistant Chief of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

This prosecution is part of ongoing federal efforts to hold individuals accountable for health care fraud schemes that exploit public health programs and contribute to rising costs for patients and insurers.