Felipe Ruiz, 51, of Fresno, and Jose Gabriel Aguirre, 52, of Clovis, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, US Attorney Eric Grant announced. According to court documents, Ruiz was a podiatrist at West Coast Podiatry Inc. (WCP), a podiatric medical practice with locations in Fresno, Madera, and Stanislaus Counties. Aguirre was a sales representative that sold skin grafts to Ruiz and WCP. Between June 2021 and January 2024, Ruiz purchased skin grafts from Aguirre and permitted Aguirre, who was not a licensed healthcare provider, to apply the skin grafts to Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Ruiz and Aguirre subsequently submitted claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal that falsely represented that Ruiz had applied the skin grafts to the beneficiaries, when Aguirre had actually rendered the services. As a result, Medicare and Medi-Cal paid Ruiz for the false claims. Ruiz then made payments to Aguirre.