A federal grand jury indicted seven people on criminal charges related to more than $40 million in Medicare and Colorado Medicaid fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced this week.
The alleged fraud victimized elderly Medicare beneficiaries and used referrals to perform unnecessary genetic testing.
The individuals indicted were involved via several corporate entities, including Claro Scientific Laboratories in Lafayette and 303 Diagnostics LLC in Aurora.
The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to pay kickbacks and bribes to marketing agencies as well as charges related to kickbacks and bribes to health care benefit programs, according to federal prosecutors. The indictment claims that the defendants’ companies used call centers to target seniors. The indictment also alleges that three of the defendants conspired to launder the proceeds of their companies.
The seven individuals named in the indictment are Ronald King, 51, formerly of Berlin, New Hampshire, and now residing in Bangor, Maine; Victor Roiter, 55, of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida; Tina Wellman, 51, of Mayfield, New York; Adam Shorr, 55, of Dunedin, Florida; Robert O’Sullivan, 55, of Lake Sherwood, California; Bradley Edson, 66, of Mesa, Arizona; and John Gautereaux, 59, of Temecula, California.
King, Wellman, Shorr, O’Sullivan, Edson, and Gautereaux pleaded not guilty in initial appearances in Denver between Aug. 26 and Sept. 5 before Magistrate Judge Susan Prose. Online court documents show that Roiter did not appear for his scheduled Aug. 27 hearing and officials believe he is not in the U.S.
The other six defendants were asked to surrender their passports and were released on a $25,000 bail, except for Edson, who was released on a $100,000 bail.
Updated 5:10 p.m. Sept. 26, 2024: This story has been corrected to report that the defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury and are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.
