MIAMI – A pharmacy owner from Miami pleaded guilty Friday to her role in a $1.6 million Medicare fraud scheme.
Tamara Esponda, 47, who owned Biomax Pharmacy Inc., admitted that between October 2012 and September 2013, the pharmacy submitted nearly $1.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for prescription drugs that were not prescribed by physicians.
Recommended Videos
According to prosecutors, the drugs were "not medically necessary, not purchased by Biomax Pharmacy and (were) not provided to Medicare beneficiaries."
Court documents say Esponda admitted that she and her accomplices stole or illegally paid for Medicare patient information to submit the fraudulent claims.
Esponda said she controlled the pharmacy's bank accounts and often transferred payments received from Medicare to herself and her accomplices.
Since March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged more than 2,300 people who are accused of fraudulently billing the Medicare program for more than $7 billion.
Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10