Manager of Clinical Laboratory Sentenced for Health Care Fraud

David Pugliese, a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, was sentenced on January 12, 2024, in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, for Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. Pugliese was sentenced to 30 months in prison, two years’ probation, and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,238,699. Pugliese was the manager and registered agent of Capital Advantage Diagnostics, LLC, which was purportedly in the business of performing a variety of laboratory tests for various health care providers. Our investigation found that Pugliese and others submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Amtrak’s insurance providers for claims that were not medically necessary or for laboratory tests that were never performed. Pugliese solicited beneficiary information and specimens for testing through the use of individual laboratory representatives and paid bribes to these representatives for specimens they provided. As a result of the scheme, Amtrak’s insurance providers were billed approximately $315,474.