Pinoys nabbed in US for multi-million health care scam

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/11/2009 11:04 AM

Some 42 suspects, majority of them Filipinos, were arrested in the United States Thursday (Friday in Manila) for allegedly pulling off a $4.6-million medical scam against California's government.

"The majority of the defendants in this case are Filipino. Many of them are from the Philippines and are Philippine citizens. A number of the people arrested today are here illegally," Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the US Department of Justice, told ABS-CBN's Balitang America.

Officers said 20 people posing as licensed nurses were sent by nursing agency called Medcare Plus Home Health Providers to provide in-home care to disabled patients, majority of whom are children.

The nursing agency would then bill the government of California.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Health Services started investigating the nursing agency after parents of disabled children began complaining about the nurses' lack of skill.

"We had one instance in which a child with a tracheotomy tube that was hooked up to a ventilator that helped him breathe, came out and the nurse simply didn't know what to do, didn't know how to handle it. Fortunately, the mother was there to get the tube back into place or else this child might have died," Mrozek said.

The admitted mastermind of the medical fraud ring, Filipina Priscilla Villabroza, pleaded guilty to five counts of health care fraud in 2008. She's facing more than 50 years in federal prison.

Her assistant, Susan Bendigo, also a Filipina, fled before agents could arrest her. US authorities believe she is hiding out in the Philippines.

US authorities said the 42 suspects, at least 80 percent of them Filipinos, will be arraigned for charges of conspiracy to commit health fraud next week.

The suspects are facing punishments of up to 10 years in prison each if found guilty. Report from Joseph Pimentel, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

Comments

Rodolfo Bermejo Lim (the

Rodolfo Bermejo Lim (the spouse of Susan Bendigo) was involved in the scam by helping his wife recruit people to pose as US RNs or LVNs. He also loaned out his social security number several times to be used in perpetuating their scam. He was quite vocal about his participation in this scam before the real story broke in the news - he would brag about the money he made.

Alejandro C. Lim a.k.a. Andian Lim, 56 years old, also worked with Bendigo and POSED as one of the nurses or licensed vocational nurses (LVN) last 2006 for 2 months. In fact he lived with Bendigo (around March to April 2006) during the time he was working for her. Alejandro studied nursing in the Philippines but did not take the board and is definitely not a registered nurse in the US. He gained entry in the US as a tourist. After working for Bendigo he worked in New Jersey as a draftsman for a Filipino construction firm until his I-94 expired.

Although I do not have a current address or a phone number - I know for certain that he is frequently found in the city of Tagbilaran, Bohol Province in the Philippines. He has a little business there.

Submitted by Bisdaknurse on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 20:34.

Susan Bendigo Lim is the

Susan Bendigo Lim is the spouse of Rodolfo Bermejo Lim. Susan was born in Davao City, Philippines and she studied in Cebu City. Got married and resided in Tagbilaran City, Bohol with her in-laws. Bendigo and her family came back to the Philippines last Oct. 2008 and before she went into hiding were living in:

Marlim Compound
Graham Avenue, Booy District
Tagbilaran City, Bohol 6300
Philippines
Tel. No.: 63-38 412-3115

Her husband and children are still living presently in Tagbilaran City but Susan was last seen this week in Cebu City, Philippines with short hair.

Submitted by Bisdaknurse on Fri, 07/17/2009 - 20:30.

they should arrest and put to

they should arrest and put to jail all of them the are guilty no questions asked!!!

Submitted by lugaw1 on Sat, 07/11/2009 - 23:43.

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