Naples couple accused of running $3.9M drug diversion scheme

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. A Naples couple was arrested Thursday and accused of defrauding Medicaid for nearly $4 million, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Francisco Calderon, 53, and his wife Zulima Calderon, 51, trafficked approximately $3.9 million of contraband prescription drugs between 2005 and 2013, according to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation.

“Medicaid fraud cases are complex and time consuming and I appreciate the hard work of the investigators on this case,” FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said. “The Calderons not only stole money from taxpayers, they are also responsible for tens of thousands of illegal prescription drugs flooding the streets in the southeastern United States.”

The Calderons did not have a license to engage in wholesaling pharmaceuticals and allegedly used their Florida-based corporation, All Technician Specialty Inc., to launder money from the sales of contraband pharmaceuticals to Jorge Castillo of Miami Lakes.

Authorities arrested Castillo in 2013. He’s now serving 25 years in prison. Neither his age or his address at the time of the arrest were specified.

The Calderons used illegal profits to purchase homes in Naples and Miramar for hundreds of thousands of dollars each, according to the investigation. Bondi’s office seized the Miramar property pursuant to Florida’s civil racketeering laws.

The Calderons each face one count of trafficking in contraband prescription drugs, Medicaid fraud, organized scheme to defraud and money laundering, all first-degree felonies. Each count is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Bondi’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is prosecuting the case.

It’s unclear how the Calderons gained access to the drugs. Bondi’s office didn’t specify their addresses, where they’re being held, or bond information.

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