United Statesv.Willner et al.; United States v. Ward
The Eleventh Circuit consolidated two appeals from separate trials of defendants charged in a Medicare-fraud conspiracy involving American Therapeutic Corporation and American Sleep Institute. The Government alleged that the companies enrolled ineligible patients for partial-hospitalization services, arranged unnecessary sleep studies, paid kickbacks, falsified records, and billed Medicare more than $200 million. In No. 12-15322, the court reversed Vanja Abreu’s conspiracy conviction, vacated her sentence, and entered a judgment of acquittal because the evidence did not show that she knew of or willfully joined the conspiracy; it affirmed the convictions of Mark Willner, Alberto Ayala, and Hilario “Larry” Morris. The court held that errors involving Medicare expert Stephen Quindoza did not require reversal because the evidence of Willner’s and Ayala’s guilt was overwhelming and the other defendants did not establish prejudice. In No. 13-10533, the court affirmed Lydia Ward’s conviction, concluding that the challenged expert testimony and other asserted evidentiary errors did not affect her substantial rights. It also rejected Morris’s Fifth Amendment claim and Ward’s unpreserved evidentiary claims. The judgment in No. 12-15322 was affirmed in part and reversed in part; the judgment in No. 13-10533 was affirmed.
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