Drive-through COVID-19 testing at nine residence country clubs near West Palm Beach ended, for almost 2,000 patients, with far more blood drawn than they had signed up for. A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida has convicted Joseph Rodriguez, 58, of Coral Springs, of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud, according to a Justice Department release dated October 7. The verdict came the day before.
Rodriguez was the vice president of a testing laboratory and also owned and ran a separate marketing company, Phoenix Health. The release does not name the laboratory.
How the extra tests were added
Prosecutors say Rodriguez marketed the testing events to the country club communities and organized them through Phoenix Health. Elderly patients signed up for a COVID-19 nasal swab and a blood antibody test. Staff then drew extra blood and ran more tests the patients did not want or need, and no doctor had ordered them, as Medicare requires.
The added tests ranged from hormone tests to heavy-metal tests for arsenic, mercury and cadmium. Some patients received tens of them, and some received hundreds. The scheme ran for about four months.
The Justice Department says Rodriguez directed staff to draw the extra blood and caused a doctor’s name to be listed on Medicare claims. The claims presented the tests as medically necessary and ordered by a treating physician.
For patients on Medicare, the lesson sits in the claims record. An unordered test shows up on the patient’s own Medicare claims, on the named doctor’s records and in the number of vials drawn at the table, and anyone who has a COVID-19 test or any other lab work can check their Medicare claims for tests they never agreed to.
Rodriguez’s sentencing is set for January 2027, the date that will show what a federal judge decides for a conviction carrying up to 10 years per count.
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Billed versus paid
Medicare was billed more than $15 million and paid over $500,000, according to the release. The two numbers measure different things: the first is what the claims asked for, and the second is what the program actually sent out. The release does not give a per-test price.
The trial evidence, as the Justice Department describes it, included complaints from patients sent to Rodriguez. One of the doctors named as ordering the tests also complained, asking why Medicare had been billed thousands of dollars for blood tests in that doctor’s name. Club managers asked Rodriguez why extra blood tests were being run on members who only wanted COVID-19 tests. The evidence also included a photograph of one testing event, which the release says Rodriguez managed and advertised to club managers.
What the Justice Department said
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the National Fraud Enforcement Division said the defendant “took advantage of patients desperate for COVID-19 tests at the height of the pandemic,” and that such conduct “will be prosecuted.” Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Miranda L. Bennett of the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general’s office said Rodriguez put personal gain above the well-being of elderly patients and violated their trust. FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles said the verdict shows that “those who seek to profit through fraudulent schemes will be held accountable.”
The FBI and the HHS Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant Deputy Chief James V. Hayes and Trial Attorney Claire Horrell of the Health Care Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
That section has over 75 white-collar prosecutors and works in nine Strike Forces across the country. The Strike Force model pools resources from the FBI, the HHS inspector general, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation. The section says it conducts more trials than any other part of the Justice Department and uses data analytics to find newly emerging health care fraud schemes. Its cases cover Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, the military health program.
The court will set the sentencing date later in January 2027. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, and the judge will weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The department also says the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers over $45 billion since 2007.
Checking Medicare claims for tests nobody ordered
Medicare tells beneficiaries to compare the dates and services on their own calendars with their Medicare statements and confirm that each service listed is one they received. A secure account at Medicare.gov shows Original Medicare claims as soon as they are processed, which helps spot mistakes sooner, according to Medicare’s fraud reporting page. A lab charge for a test that never made it onto the calendar is worth a call to the provider.
The same page says suspected fraud can be reported by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or online through the HHS Office of Inspector General. Members of a Medicare Advantage or drug plan can call 1-877-772-3379. The HHS inspector general has also warned that labs targeting retirement communities have billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary services.
Complaints did the work in this case. Patient complaints, a named doctor’s question about the bills and club managers’ questions were all part of the evidence at trial, the Justice Department says.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
