One of the country’s most-wanted healthcare fraud fugitives, who allegedly fleeced nursing homes and the federal government for more than $10 million, was caught last week.
Etienne Allonce, 55, was arraigned Thursday at a federal courthouse in Long Island and charged with healthcare fraud and conspiracy.
More than a decade ago Allonce and his wife, Helen Michel, were indicted tied to their business practices at Medical Solutions Management Inc., a medical equipment company.
The pair is accused of submitting $10 million in false claims to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for supplies that nursing homes never actually received between 2003 and 2007, according to the Department of Justice.
Michel was convicted in 2012 and released last December. Allonce, meanwhile, fled the country hours before federal agents arrested his wife, leaving behind a young daughter. He was expelled from Haiti to face charges in the pending indictment.
“Mr. Allonce allegedly thought he could escape his crimes by leaving the United States, and hiding as a fugitive for more than a decade, leaving his wife behind to answer for their defrauding American taxpayers,” Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney said in a statement. “Regardless of the crime, be it healthcare fraud or bank robbery, if criminals break the law and are charged, they will be held accountable.”
