Ill. Man Gets 3 Years In Erectile Pump Case

Published February 10, 2012 5:54PM (EST)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — An Illinois man has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for shipping unwanted penis enlargers to diabetes patients in a scheme to bilk Medicare of more than $2.2 million.

Gary Winner, of Wheeling, Ill. was sentenced in federal court in Rhode Island on Friday to a 37-month sentence and was ordered to pay restitution.

Winner pleaded guilty in November to purchasing enlargers for about $26 each and shipping them to patients, claiming the devices helped "bladder control, urinary flow and prostate comfort."

Prosecutors say Winner billed Medicare an average of $284 for each item.

Prosecutors also allege Winner swindled more than $1.8 million by seeking reimbursement for arthritic packages he claimed Medicare beneficiaries and their physicians ordered.


By Salon Staff

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