health care fraud

WASHINGTON—Petros Fichidzhyan, a California man, pleaded guilty to health care fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering in connection with scheme to defraud Medicare of more than $17 million through sham hospice companies and his home health care company, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Fichidzhyan is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14.

SAN FRANCISCO—Veronica Katz, a San Francisco home health agency owner, was sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $543,634 in restitution for committing health care fraud. The sentencing was handed down by James Donato, U.S. District Judge.

EL PASO, Texas—Edelmira Marquez, owner of durable medical equipment company Marquez Medical Supply in El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to her imprisonment, Marquez has been fined $20,000 and ordered to pay more than $1.7 million in restitution to Medicaid. 

WASHINGTON—The Office of Public Affairs announced that a Michigan home health care company owner was sentenced to three years and five months in prison for his role in a health care fraud conspiracy, which resulted in almost $7.9 million in false and fraudulent claims for home health care services paid by Medicare Part A.

NEWARK, New Jersey—United States Attorney Vikas Khanna announced that two Florida men, a father and son duo, were arraigned on charges relating to their roles in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment (DME) and prescription drug health care fraud and kickback scheme.

ST. LOUIS—A business owner in St. Louis, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of more than $3 million over the course of more than a decade.

TRENTON, New Jersey—A Florida man admitted his role in a durable medical equipment (DME) health care fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.

Christopher Vehovec of Miami Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton federal court.

DETROIT—A married Macomb County couple, Noli and Isabel Tcruz, were sentenced to six years in prison and 38 months in prison, respectively, on health care fraud kickback conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud charges. U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison announced this sentencing following the sentencings earlier this year of two doctors who pled guilty to receiving kickbacks and bribes from the Tcruzes.

NEWARK, New Jersey—A Connecticut man has admitted his role in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment (DME) health care fraud and kickback scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna.

SPOKANE, Washington—Justin Leland has agreed to pay $224,620.88 to resolve allegations he participated in a kick-back scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).

LOS ANGELES—The owner of a tattoo removal business in South Gate pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for recruiting paraplegics in a health care fraud scheme that netted more than $1.7 million and for cheating on his taxes.

Joseph Tusia, 60, of Leominster, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with health care fraud and tax evasion.

LOS ANGELES—A Ventura County physician who worked for two Pasadena hospices pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare out of more than $3 million by billing the public health insurance program for medically unnecessary hospice services.

Victor Contreras, 68, of Santa Paula, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud.

BOSTON—A Westford woman was convicted Friday, July 19, 2024 following a nine-day jury trial in federal court in Boston in connection with a home health care fraud scheme.

CHICAGO, Illinois—The office manager for a suburban Chicago medical equipment boutique has been indicted on federal health care fraud charges for allegedly billing private insurers for products that were never provided, including breast prostheses, compression garments and wigs for cancer survivors.

TOLEDO, Ohio—Ankita Singh, 42, formerly of Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced to 26 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, for her role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme that defrauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Medicare Program. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,470,931.02, serve two years of supervised release and pay a special assessment fee of $600.

ATLANTA—Simon Orobor has been sentenced for conspiring to pay health care kickbacks payments for unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), resulting in more than $20 million in claims to, and $13 million in payments from, Medicare.

NEWARK, New Jersey—A Florida man was charged in an indictment unsealed today for his role in durable medical equipment (DME) kickback scheme that caused $97 million in losses to Medicare, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced.

LYNCHBURG, Virgina—A November 2023 indictment, returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Roanoke, Virginia charging nine people with health care fraud conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction of justice, has been unsealed following the arrest and initial court appearances of all nine defendants. 

RALEIGH, North Carolina—North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced Aljihad Shabazz of Kernersville, North Carolina pleaded guilty for his role in a health care fraud scheme that defrauded the North Carolina Medicaid program of more than $4.7 million.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina—Deeana Burr, 54, of Charleston, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

HOUSTON – A 43-year-old Houston woman has been charged for conspiracy to commit and committing health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani on Friday, March 10.

Rose Davies is expected to make her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena H. Palermo.

A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment March 1 against Davies.