Home / Crime and Justice / NY PT Fugitive: $2.8M Fraud Suspect Flees to Manila?
NY PT Fugitive: $2.8M Fraud Suspect Flees to Manila?
14 Jul
Summary
- Physical therapist Conrado Lopez Jr. is a fugitive wanted for fraud.
- He is accused in an $18.4 million Medicare and Medicaid scheme.
- Lopez may be hiding in Manila or the United Arab Emirates.
A Filipino American physical therapist, Conrado Dizon Lopez Jr., is currently a fugitive wanted by US authorities in connection with a health care fraud scheme. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) has listed Lopez, 51, as a wanted fugitive.
Lopez, who owned Total Rehab in Brooklyn, New York, is accused of participating in a scheme that submitted approximately $18.4 million in reimbursement claims to Medicare and Medicaid between March 2009 and November 2011. Authorities allege that around $2.8 million of these claims identified Lopez as the medical service provider for services that were either not rendered, not medically necessary, or performed by unlicensed individuals.
Investigators state that Lopez admitted his knowing participation in the scheme. He is also accused of signing backdated billing documents for services purportedly rendered while he was traveling abroad. The HHS-OIG highlighted the case in a recent "Fugitive Friday" post, suggesting Lopez may be located in Manila or the United Arab Emirates.
HHS-OIG is asking for public assistance in locating Lopez and provides a hotline for fugitive sighting reports. They advise the public not to approach wanted individuals but to report any information directly to the authorities.
