Columbia, S.C. The Region C Durable Medical Equipment Regional has urged home medical equipment providers not to fall for power-operated-vehicle scams in Florida. According to the Office of the Inspector General, POV and scooter scams are widespread.

The DMERC cited a December article in The Tampa Tribune about such a scheme involving 25 providers in Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties in Florida. The companies' employees allegedly went door to door selling power wheelchairs to the elderly. The chairs were never delivered or were swapped for POVs, the newspaper said. Beneficiaries were wooed with promises of other HME, such as beds and seat-lift mechanisms, according to the article.

Several of those involved have apparently approached providers nationwide to participate in the scam,the DMERC said.