Owner of Home Health Agency Sentenced to 75 Years in Prison for Involvement in $13 M Medicare Fraud

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-home-health-agency-sentenced-75-years-prison-involvement-13-million-medicare-fraud

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 11, 2017

Owner of Home Health Agency Sentenced to 75 Years in Prison for Involvement in $13 Million Medicare Fraud Conspiracy

The owner and director of nursing of a Houston home health agency was sentenced today to 75 years in prison for her role in a $13 million Medicare fraud scheme.
(snip)

Marie Neba, 53, of Sugarland, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon of the Southern District of Texas. In November 2016, Neba was convicted after a two-week jury trial of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, three counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, one count of payment and receipt of health care kickbacks, one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and one count of making health care false statements.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from February 2006 through June 2015, Neba and others conspired to defraud Medicare by submitting over $10 million in false and fraudulent claims for home health services to Medicare through Fiango Home Healthcare Inc., owned by Neba and her husband, Ebong Tilong, 53, also of Sugarland, Texas. The trial evidence showed that using the money that Medicare paid for such fraudulent claims, Neba paid illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters for referring Medicare beneficiaries to Fiango for home health services. Neba also paid illegal kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries for allowing Fiango to bill Medicare using beneficiaries’ Medicare information for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided, the evidence showed. Neba falsified medical records to make it appear as though the Medicare beneficiaries qualified for and received home health services. Neba also attempted to suborn perjury from a co-defendant in the federal courthouse, the evidence showed.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from February 2006 to June 2015, Neba received more than $13 million from Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary or not provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
(snip)

[TexasTowelie]

1. Good news.

The fight against fraud in healthcare fields has become more intense over the past couple of years. It's nice to see the bad actors taken down.

[stuffmatters]

2. Too bad this same judge wasn't on the Rick Scott Medicare Fraud Case.

Instead of the prison he deserved, one of biggest Medicare fraudsters in history went on to become Gov of Florida.