Hospital system to pay $260 million in penalties

FORT MYERS — The U.S. Justice Department has ordered Health Management Associates, formerly a major hospital chain headquartered in Naples, to pay more than $260 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims in a health care fraud case that dates back at least seven years and involved a pair of Charlotte County medical centers. 

HMA agreed to pay $93.5 million to resolve the civil allegations, with the federal government receiving $88 million and Florida receiving $5.5 million, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office. The remaining $166.5 million will reconcile the criminal charges. The settlement was announced in a statement from multiple government offices, including U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez of the Middle District of Florida, based in Tampa.