2 Las Vegas nurses accused of making millions in health care fraud scheme
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two nurses living in Las Vegas are accused of raking in millions as part of a nationwide investigation into alleged health care fraud, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
Paulino Gonzalez, 40, a registered nurse; and Mary Huntly, 67, a nurse practitioner, are two of more than 300 defendants charged in the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, according to a news release.
Both Gonzalez’s and Huntly’s charges surround amniotic wound allografts, a product made with amniotic fluid aimed to help stubborn healing, officials said.
“Many of the allografts allegedly were applied without coordination with the patients’ treating physicians, without proper treatment for infection, to superficial wounds that did not need this treatment, and to areas that far exceeded the size of the wound,” officials said. “Certain defendants allegedly received millions in illegal kickbacks from the fraudulent billing scheme.”
Prosecutors allege Gonzalez received nearly $7.4 million in “illegal kickbacks from an allograft distributor in exchange for recommending the purchasing and ordering of certain allografts billed to Medicare,” they said.
The company working with Gonzalez, which was not named in court documents, billed Medicare more than $94 million for the allografts, prosecutors said.
Paulino’s record with the Nevada State Board of Nursing shows an active license with no prior disciplinary actions.
Huntly’s company allegedly received $9.1 million from fraudulent claims, prosecutors said. Court documents for Huntly were not yet uploaded to the federal court system as of Monday.
Huntly’s record with the nursing board shows an active license with no prior disciplinary actions.
“Today’s unprecedented enforcement action demonstrates that [The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] and our federal partners are united in our mission to protect the integrity of Medicare and Medicaid by crushing waste, fraud, and abuse,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a statement. “Every dollar we prevent from going to fraudsters is a dollar that stays in the system to serve legitimate beneficiaries. Through advanced data analytics, real-time monitoring, and swift administrative action, CMS is leading the fight to protect Medicare, Medicaid, and the trust Americans place in these vital programs. We’re not waiting for fraud to happen — we’re stopping it before it starts.”
Records show Gonzalez agreed to a plea deal where prosecutors would suggest the lower end of federal sentencing guidelines.
In all, the department filed charges against 324 defendants involving schemes totaling more than $14.6 billion.
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