{"id":46135,"date":"2024-01-17T20:02:38","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T20:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/01\/17\/navy-doctor-sentenced-for-egregious-2-million-fraud-scam\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:21:12","slug":"navy-doctor-sentenced-for-egregious-2-million-fraud-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2024\/01\/17\/navy-doctor-sentenced-for-egregious-2-million-fraud-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Navy doctor sentenced for \u2018egregious\u2019 $2 million fraud scam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Navy doctor has been sentenced in federal court for conducting a $2 million insurance fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of California recently announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cmdr. Michael Villarroel earned a sentence of one year and one day in custody on Friday, the attorney\u2019s office said in a statement<\/a>, adding that he was also ordered to pay back as criminal forfeiture the $180,000 in kickbacks<\/a> he obtained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, he and his co-conspirators scammed approximately $2 million in payments from 2012 to at least December 2015 through fake or exaggerated claims submitted to a life insurance program that compensates service members who suffer serious and debilitating injuries while on active duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military medical professional pleaded guilty to the crime<\/a> last March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs fraudulent schemes go, this one was egregious,\u201d U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath said in the statement. \u201cToday the defendant found out there is a high price to be paid for pocketing money intended for injured and traumatized service members.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t