After Angelica Pacheco’s removing from workplace following her arrest on federal healthcare fraud expenses, the town of Hialeah has appointed 38-year-old Melinda De La Vega as an interim council member.
De La Vega will maintain the place till a particular election is performed in November 2025 to elect a everlasting council member.
Though De La Vega lacks political expertise, she at the moment serves as vp of the Hialeah Lions Membership, a nonprofit devoted to supporting the aged, people with particular wants, and households in want. Her neighborhood service background is taken into account a invaluable asset, in line with council members. De La Vega has a bachelor’s diploma in healthcare administration and human assets and is a member of Hialeah’s Historic Preservation Board.
De La Vega’s appointment was authorized with 5 votes in favor from Jesus Tundidor, Monica Perez, Jacqueline Garcia-Roves, Carl Zogby, and Luis Rodriguez, whereas Bryan Calvo was the only real dissenting vote. Calvo criticized the timing of the particular council assembly, which was scheduled for mid-July, arguing that the council ought to have convened earlier after Pacheco’s removing on June 25.
Former Councilwoman Angelica Pacheco surrendered to the FBI final Thursday after being indicted on healthcare fraud expenses. Pacheco is accused of billing non-public insurers hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for providers at her dependancy remedy middle, Florida Life Restoration and Rehabilitation LLC.
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The grand jury indictment alleges that Pacheco’s enterprise submitted $19.1 million in fraudulent payments to a number of insurance coverage firms, together with Aetna, between July 2017 and August 2020. The enterprise, which shut down in 2022, was registered by her husband, Daniel Pacheco, who has not been charged.
The indictment additionally accuses Pacheco of defrauding the U.S. authorities by submitting false enterprise mortgage purposes in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming her enterprise was not engaged in unlawful actions when making use of for loans. 4 firms owned by the Pacheco household reportedly obtained over $500,000 in federal Paycheck Safety Program and different pandemic loans. Pacheco has claimed these funds had been used to pay staff and maintain the companies.
Learn: Hialeah Councilwoman arrested for multimillion dollar healthcare fraud
