Former attorney pleads guilty in $28.3M scheme

A disbarred North Carolina attorney pleaded guilty to her role in a $28.3 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved several outpatient rehab facilities in Florida, including one Venice and one in Fort Myers.

Margarita M. Grishkoff, 59, of Charlotte, N.C., and formerly of southwest Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, according a release from the U.S. Attorney's office. The FBI and the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General brought the case against Grishkoff through the Medicare Fraud Strike Force. The U.S. Attorney's office for the Middle District of Florida, based in Tampa, oversaw the investigation.

Authorities contend Grishkoff and her co-conspirators used various physical therapy clinics and other business entities throughout Florida and other states to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims to Medicare from 2005 through 2009. Those claims, according to prosecutors, totaled $28.3 million, and Medicare paid approximately $14.4 million on those requests.