OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say an Omaha man defrauded Medicare and Medicaid in a scheme involving recipients in Nebraska, Iowa and other states.

A U.S. District Court complaint filed earlier this month says Nereus Sutko committed health care fraud that began in November 2010 and continued into this month. Sutko’s attorney, Adam Sipple, said Monday that Sutko will plead not guilty. Sipple declined to comment further about the allegations.

The documents say Sutko sometimes visited homeless shelters and threw pizza parties at nursing homes, promising gifts as a way to obtain Social Security and health information for his scheme. The documents say Sutko would order health care items that would never be delivered to the recipients.

Sutko is alleged to have filed 1,666 Medicare claims through the company he managed, Better Lives, getting more than $674,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Norris says he can’t yet specify how much money Sutko is alleged to have fraudulently profited through his scheme.