A Cuban man who was charged with a Medicare fraud scheme totaling $4.2 million is being held as a flight risk after he tried to flee the U.S. via a Jet Ski, officials said.
According to court records, 54-year-old Ernesto Cruz Graveran was ordered by a federal judge in Miami to be detained while awaiting his trial on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
Cruz Graveran’s company was recently accused of submitting approximately $4.2 million in fraudulent healthcare claims to Medicare earlier this year.
The claims were for medical equipment that the company never ended up providing.
Last Wednesday, officers with the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency reported that they found Cruz Graveran in waters south of Key West.
Cruz Graveran was reportedly on a broken-down Jet Ski with the intention of heading to Cuba, which is approximately 90 miles from Key West.
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