Two Lakeland physical therapists were sentenced Wednesday to prison on federal charges of fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid.
Lilian Pagkaliwangan must serve 46 months in prison, and her husband, Raymundo Arellano, must serve 42 months in prison.
Fighting to speak through tears, Pagkaliwangan, 40, begged a judge to have mercy, saying her 12- and 7-year-old daughters would suffer without their parents.
"I am deeply sorry for what I've done and for mistakes I've made," she said.
U.S. District Judge James D. Whittemore agreed one parent's prison sentence could be staggered or delayed to let the other remain free to take care of their two children.
Arellano, 43, asked to serve his sentence first, and Pagkaliwangan would take care of the children.
The judge allowed Arellano to remain free and to report Thursday to the U.S. Marshal Service for processing into the federal prison system.
Whittemore refused Pagkaliwangan's request for probation and house arrest.
"It's just too serious of a case," he said.
He said the couple's scheme was calculated, sophisticated and showed the loss of a "moral compass."
Defense lawyers argued the couple were distraught over a miscarriage, and "continually fell behind on business matters," according to a sentencing memorandum.
They were ordered to pay $319,415 in restitution.
Arellano has given up his physical therapist license. Pagkaliwangan's lawyer, Adam Schwartz, said his client would also lose her license, and she must find a new career to take care of her children.
The family's home is in foreclosure, and creditors are banging on their door, he said.
"It's pretty dire," said Schwartz.
However, the judge agreed with prosecutors that the motive behind the crime was greed.
"Candidly, it's hard to be sympathetic," Whittemore said.
In addition to prison, both were sentenced to three years of supervised release.
Pagkaliwangan and Arellano, natives of the Philippines who immigrated to the United States, operated two businesses, Lakeland Therapy Providers and Optimum Therapy.
A grand jury indicted the couple in January 2010 on a variety of federal charges.
The indictment states they submitted claims for services that weren't performed, turned in claims by a therapist who wasn't enrolled as a Medicaid provider and submitted claims for individual therapy even though the therapy was in a group setting.
The investigation uncovered more than 800 false claims from April 2006 to June 2008, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Monk.
He said Pagkaliwangan directed employees to falsify records in an attempt to cover up the scheme.
Arellano pleaded guilty in July to six counts of making false statements in connection with health care benefits as well as one count of aggravated identity theft.
Pagkaliwangan pleaded guilty later that same month to six counts of making false statements in connection with health care benefits.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=36276.0
