The Miami-Dade man hasn't held a steady job in more than a decade. Yet Ihosvany Marquez spent millions of dollars on a fleet of Lamborghinis, Bentleys and other luxury cars, along with thoroughbred horses and diamond jewelry, authorities say.
All with your tax dollars, they say.
Marquez, 38, was detained without bond Monday morning by a federal magistrate judge on charges of submitting $55 million in false claims to Medicare for bogus HIV and cancer services at his seven clinics in Miami-Dade and Orlando. The taxpayer-funded healthcare program paid Marquez and other partners in the alleged conspiracy about $22 million from 2005 to 2007, according to an indictment.
``This is an absolutely massive Medicare fraud scheme, even by Miami standards,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Stumphauzer said, pushing for no bond before trial, noting that a suspect in a related case fled the country last year to avoid trial.
Marquez's lawyer, Michael Walsh, who entered a not guilty plea for his client, challenged the government's claim that his client would skip town. ``You don't think he's going to use one of these horses to flee?'' Walsh questioned an FBI agent on the witness stand.
``I don't think that's going to happen,'' FBI agent Avatar LeFevre said.
Read the complete story at miamiherald.com
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