Suburban health care workers face federal charges

Several suburban health care workers have been added to a federal Medicare fraud indictment involving a Berwyn man who used to run operations in Chicago.

Jacinto “John” Gabriel Jr., 44, was originally indicted on charges that he swindled Medicare out of some $20 million over five years by filing false claims. Prosecutors recently indicted nearly a dozen people who worked alongside Gabriel, calling them co-conspirators.

Included in the indictment is 35-year-old Nessli Reyes of Elgin, who is charged with health care fraud conspiracy and health care fraud. Reyes was the president of one of Gabriel’s companies and is accused of working with him to pay health care workers to get sick or injured clients to sign up with his company.

Also indicted was James Davis, 37, of West Chicago. Davis was a data entry employee at one of Gabriel’s company who is accused of falsifying Medicare forms to pay larger benefits. He is charged with health care fraud conspiracy, prosecutors said.

Kennedy Lomillo, 44, of Mundelein is charged with aiding and abetting the preparation of false income tax returns. Federal prosecutors said Lomillo prepared corporate tax returns for Gabriel’s company as well as a false personal income tax return for another defendant.

Prosecutors allege the scheme worked by the defendants obtaining “personal information of Medicare beneficiaries to bill Medicare without their knowledge or consent.”

The indictment alleges the money received from the scheme was spent on gambling at local casinos and in Las Vegas, automobiles, jewelry and real estate in the United States and the Philippines.

The arrests were part of a multijurisdictional investigation that included the U.S. Justice Department, FBI, IRS and Railroad Retirement Board Inspector General’s office, according to federal prosecutors.