Gainesville Physician And Ex-Wife Convicted Of Health Care Fraud Conspiracy, Health Care Fraud, And

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Gainesville Physician And Ex-Wife Convicted Of Health Care Fraud Conspiracy, Health Care Fraud, And Money Laundering


GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA –Lawrence Keefe, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, today announced the convictions of Erik M. Schabert, 48, a physician, and his ex-wife, Mika Kamissa Harris, 49, both of Gainesville, Florida, on health care fraud and money laundering charges involving more than $8 million. The convictions came after a three-week federal jury trial that involved more than 45 witnesses and over 850 exhibits introduced into evidence.

The jury heard evidence that, while owning and operating Reliant Family Practice in Gainesville, Harris and Schabert attempted to defraud health care benefit programs of more than $8 million by submitting fraudulent claims. Evidence showed that between January 2013 and July 2016, Reliant Family Practice received $4.4 million from Medicare and Blue Cross Blue Shield for chemical peels and dermabrasions following false diagnoses of rosacea and actinic keratosis. The jury heard evidence that Harris engaged in numerous financial transactions in which she laundered approximately $3.1 million dollars in proceeds from the health care fraud scheme.

"Americans struggle every day with the high costs of health care, and they are as much the victims of this kind of fraud scheme as the programs that suffered financial losses," Keefe said. "These convictions were the result of a concerted effort by federal law enforcement, and the United States Attorney’s Office will pursue these types of criminals as aggressively and diligently as possible."

"It’s not every day you see a crime so audacious that it results in a 90-count guilty verdict, but Erik Schabert and Mika Kamissa Harris earned their fate. Through a sizeable fraud scheme, these two offenders cheated federal health care programs and used the ill-gotten proceeds to fund their own lavish lifestyle," said Special Agent in Charge Omar Pérez Aybar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. "Our agents, working diligently with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate such costly schemes to bring such criminals to justice."

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/gainesville-physician-and-ex-wife-convicted-health-care-fraud-conspiracy-health-care