FRESNO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston sentenced Felipe Ruiz, 52, of Fresno, and Jose Gabriel Aguirre, 53, of Clovis, to 63 months in prison for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced. Judge Thurston also ordered forfeiture of nine properties owned by Aguirre and Ruiz, as well as a $2.6 million personal forfeiture money judgement against Aguirre and a $12.1 million personal forfeiture money judgement against Ruiz.
“We trust licensed medical professionals to safeguard their patients and not hand them over to unqualified individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Grant. “This podiatrist put profit over patient safety by allowing a salesman to perform medical procedures on vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. Today’s outcome underscores our commitment to holding providers accountable when they abuse that trust and bill federal health care programs for services that violate the most basic standards of care.”
“Health care fraud schemes don’t just drain taxpayer-funded programs, they also put patients directly at risk,” said FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel. “The FBI will continue working alongside HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who treat public trust as an opportunity for personal profit.”
