Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Federal Judiciary Blogs -> Southern District of Florida

Federal Judiciary

: Southern District of Florida

"Well Known" Motorcycle Mechanic Sentenced Before Judge Altonaga

Hi folks!

SFL here, still doin' time at David's fine place while the big man goes to court and cross-examines witnesses -- you know, the stuff we all wish we were doing right now....

Here's what's happening in Judge Altonaga's courtroom:

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that defendant Jimmy A. Soto, of Miami Lakes, was sentenced on February 24, 2009, for his participation in a $5.4 million health care fraud and money laundering scheme. U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga sentenced Soto to 140 months' imprisonment.

In December 2008, after a week long trial, a Miami jury convicted Soto of a series of related health care fraud and money laundering charges. The evidence at trial established that Soto conspired with Leonardo Lozada, Eliades Diaz, and Jose D. Claro to defraud Medicare through the fraudulent submission of $5.4 million in durable medical equipment ( DME ) claims during 2005 and 2006. The claims concerned a Hialeah-based DME company operating as Med-Pro of Miami, Inc ( "Med-Pro" ). Medicare paid Med-Pro approximately $1.3 million based on the bogus claims, which were for DME items that were neither prescribed by doctors nor delivered to Medicare patients, most of whom resided in the Treasure Coast area of Florida.

Soto, a well known motorcycle mechanic, was also found guilty of laundering more than a $1million in monies stolen from Medicare. At trial, it was established that Soto recruited his customers and friends to cash several hundred thousand dollars worth of checks for Med-Pro during 2006.

Question -- can someone be a "well known motorcycle mechanic"? The only one I know is that guy from California with all the tattoos (new book cover pictured above), and even he's not that well-known.....

Full post as published by Southern District of Florida on February 26, 2009 (boomark / email).