Three South Florida men were sentenced to prison for orchestrating a scheme to defraud Medicare and launder more than $2.2 million in illicit proceeds, federal prosecutors announced.
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Marco Scamarone, 34, of Tamarac, received a 70‑month prison sentence. Jose Mendez, 34, of Coral Springs, was sentenced to 78 months. Renee Vazquez, 33, also of Tamarac, was sentenced to 60 months.
“These defendants stole from Medicare, laundered the proceeds through shell companies, and used fraudulent medical equipment businesses to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement. “Medicare exists to serve seniors and vulnerable patients, not to fund kickbacks, shell companies, and criminal profit.”
According to court documents, the three men owned and operated two fraudulent durable medical equipment companies: Braces and Orthotics LLC in Virginia and Stone Oak Durable Medical Equipment LLC in South Florida.
Between January 2022 and February 2023, the companies submitted roughly $6.9 million in false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary orthotic braces.
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Prosecutors said the conspiracy relied on illegal kickbacks paid to an offshore marketing company in exchange for beneficiary referrals and fraudulent doctors’ orders. The defendants then laundered the proceeds through a network of shell companies controlled by them or their associates, prosecutors alleged.
“Today’s sentences send a clear message: if you steal from federal health care programs in South Florida, you will face prison time, forfeiture, restitution, and federal accountability,” Quiñones said. “Fraud does not pay, and defendants do not get to keep the proceeds of their crimes.”
All three pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Scamarone and Mendez were ordered to pay over $2.2 million in forfeiture and over $3 million in restitution. Vazquez must pay over $1.7 milliom in forfeiture and over $2.2 in restitution.
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