Dallas-Based Home Health Company Owners and Nurses Charged for Roles in $13.4 Million Medicare Fraud

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/dallas-based-home-health-company-owners-and-nurses-charged-roles-134-million-medicare-fraud

Dallas-Based Home Health Company Owners and Nurses Charged for Roles in $13.4 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The co-owners of a home health company in Dallas and two nurse employees were charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for their alleged participation in a $13.4 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services.
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Okoroji and Ewah co-owned Timely Home Health Services Inc. (Timely), where Okoroji was also an administrator and licensed vocational nurse and Ewah was the director of nursing and a registered nurse. Nwanguma was a licensed vocational nurse working for Timely and Ogwuegbu was a registered nurse working for Timely.

The indictment alleges that from approximately January 2007 to September 2015, the defendants conspired to defraud Medicare by causing the submission and concealment of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. According to the allegations, Okoroji and Ewah would in some cases pay recruiters, including Nwanguma, to recruit beneficiaries for home health services, regardless of whether the beneficiaries needed home health care. Okoroji, Ewah and Ogwuegbu allegedly prepared or caused to be prepared fraudulent Medicare documents that made it appear that the beneficiaries qualified for home health services. These documents were used by doctors to certify Medicare beneficiaries for home health care.

The indictment alleges that during the scheme, Okoroji and Ewah billed Medicare approximately $13,434,550 based on false and fraudulent claims for home health services.
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