Homestead Man Arrested for Battery on a Disabled Adult

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – October 30, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Miami-Dade Police Department today arrested Carlos Cuzan, 44, for battery on a disabled adult. Acting on information from the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit’s Patient Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PANE) team investigated this case. According to the investigation, a co-worker witnessed Cuzan punching a victim several times in the face while employed as a medical health technician by the South Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center, a forensic hospital. The victim, who suffers from schizophrenia, was treated for a laceration to his lip.

Cuzan is charged with one count of battery on a disabled adult, a third degree felony. If convicted, Cuzan faces up to five years in prison. The Office of the State Attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit will prosecute this case.

The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates and prosecutes fraud involving providers that intentionally defraud the state’s Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida’s taxpayers. From Jan. 2011 to Aug. 2014, Attorney General Bondi’s MFCU has obtained more than $460 million in settlements and judgments. Additionally, the MFCU investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect, and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program.

Media Contact: Jenn Meale
Phone: (850) 245-0150

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