MANAGER OF CLINICAL LABORATORY PLEADS GUILTY TO HEALTH CARE FRAUD

David Pugliese, a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, pleaded guilty on July 28, 2023, in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, to Conspiracy to Commit Health Care Fraud. 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 fraudulently billed approximately $315,474. Pugliese will be sentenced at a future date.