The owner of a now-defunct detox and rehabilitation facility in Florida has been sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding more than $4 million from a federal benefits program “to fund a lavish lifestyle,” federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Joseph Toro, 39, of Jupiter, Fla., is accused of swindling money out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and then splurging on luxury items — including a waterfront mansion, a Lamborghini Aventador, a Mercedes G Wagon, two Cadillac Escalades and an Audemars Piguet watch.
Toro, who pleaded guilty earlier this year, was sentenced Wednesday in Miami Federal Court. U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith also imposed three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay approximately $4.5 million in restitution for defrauding the FEHBP, a program that serves government employees.
According to prosecutors, Toro was the owner of the now-closed Reawakenings Wellness Center, a substance abuse facility that provided service to FEHBP beneficiaries.
Even though the Miramar, Fla. facility shut down in January 2018, Toro continued to submit FEHBP insurance claims for about a year after that, using information of former RWC patients for substance abuse treatment that was never provided.
As part of his scheme, Toro impersonated former patients when contacting FEHBP and changed their addresses so he could receive the reimbursement checks.
For months, Toro submitted fraudulent claims on behalf of 29 of his former patients for more than $6.7 million for treatment never provided.
As a result of the fraudulent claims, Toro received nearly $4.2 million in proceeds from the FEHBP and also obtained a $150,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That application misrepresented that RWC had five employees and grossed over $1.4 million in 2019, when in truth RWC had shut down years prior,” officials said.