A Fresno podiatrist and a Clovis medical sales representative have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Felipe Ruiz, 51, of Fresno, worked as a podiatrist at West Coast Podiatry Inc., which operates clinics in Fresno, Madera, and Stanislaus counties. Jose Gabriel Aguirre, 52, of Clovis, was a sales representative who sold skin grafts to the same clinics.
Court documents show that between June 2021 and January 2024, Ruiz purchased skin grafts from Aguirre and permitted him to apply them to Medicare and Medi-Cal patients even though Aguirre was not licensed as a health care provider. The reimbursements for these procedures were paid by Medicare and Medi-Cal to Ruiz for services he did not perform. Ruiz then shared some of these reimbursements with Aguirre.
The fraudulent activity came to light following an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the FBI.
