Thursday, May 24, 2012
Illinois man gets 3 years in erectile pump case
POSTED: 08:23 a.m. HST, Feb 10, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 03:14 p.m. HST, Feb 10, 2012
PROVIDENCE, R.I. >>An Illinois man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for shipping unwanted penis enlargers to diabetes patients in a scheme to bilk Medicare of more than $2.2 million.
Gary Winner, of Wheeling, Ill. was sentenced in federal court in Rhode Island on Friday to a 37-month sentence and was ordered to pay restitution.
Winner pleaded guilty in November to purchasing enlargers for about $26 each and shipping them to patients, claiming the devices helped "bladder control, urinary flow and prostate comfort."
Prosecutors say Winner billed Medicare an average of $284 for each item.
Prosecutors also allege Winner swindled more than $1.8 million by seeking reimbursement for arthritic packages he claimed Medicare beneficiaries and their physicians ordered.
