Illinois man gets 3 years in erectile pump case
FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2011 photo, Gary Winner, from Northbrook, Ill., exits federal court in Providence, R.I., after his arraignment on health care fraud charges. Winner plead guilty to charges he shipped unwanted "erectile pumps" to diabetes patients as part of a Medicare fraud scheme, and is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, Feb. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Stew Milne, File)
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.
