FBI Adds Another Conviction To Total Of $2.9 Billion Medicare Fraud Since 2007

by Joel Hendon⁽¹⁷⁵⁾ Red Star

http://hebronics.org/index.html

It seems incredible that so many would involve themselves in schemes to defraud the Medicare fund, knowing full well that the fund is already in a nose dive to bankruptcy. The figures are so large, and perhaps they could be doubled if all such fraud could be discovered and stopped.

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011, Akinsunbo Akinbile, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston to eight counts of health care fraud. Akinbile admitted that he was the owner of Hallco Medical Supply, a company involved in supplying durable medical equipment (DME) to Medicare patients.

According to court documents, Hallco submitted claims to Medicare for DME, including orthotic devices, that were medically unnecessary and/or never provided. Many of the orthotic devices were components of “arthritis kits,” and purported to be for the treatment of arthritis-related conditions. The arthritis kits generally contained a number of devices including braces for both sides of the body and related accessories such as heat pads. In total, from June 2007 through May 2009, Hallco submitted approximately $737,770 in fraudulent claims to Medicare. (FBI News Release: November 29, 2011)

Akinbile is scheduled to be sentenced on February 15, 2012 and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The FBI’s Medicare Fraud Strike Force was formed in March, 2007 with nine different locations, and since that time have charged more than 1,140 defendants who, together have defrauded the Medicare program for more than $2.9 billion dollars.

Also, in addition to the above, the department of Health and Human Services, working with the Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) are working towards additional accountability and to decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

Article submitted Wednesday, November 30, 2011 & read 261 times.

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