by Andrew Murray | June 26th, 2019
On June 20, 2019, the Department of Justice announced that two former operators and the director of a Houston medical clinic have been charged for allegedly participating in a health care fraud scheme. The press release states:
A medical director and two operators of a Houston, Texas, medical clinic were charged in an indictment unsealed today for their alleged participation in a multimillion-dollar health care fraud scheme.
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Douglas Sharp, D.O., 69, of Katy, Texas, the medical director of Verimed Health and Medical Wellness Clinic Inc. (Verimed); Innad Husaini, M.D., 64, of Sugar Land, Texas, the owner and operator of Verimed; and Hanh Hong Thi Nguyen, 43, of Houston, the former operator of Verimed, were each charged in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas. Sharp, Husaini and Nguyen were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, Sharp was charged with three counts of false statements relating to health care matters, Husaini was charged with three counts of health care fraud and Nguyen was charged with two counts of health care fraud. The three defendants were arrested this morning and appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray of the Southern District of Texas. A trial date has not yet been set.
The indictment alleges that the defendants participated in a health care fraud scheme by which they submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid for home health care services, diagnostic tests and eye procedures, including injections into the eye, that were medically unnecessary, not provided or both. Nguyen allegedly ordered diagnostic tests on and conducted physicial examinations of patients, even though she was not a licensed medical professional.
The indictment alleges that the defendants submitted or caused the submission of approximately $16 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare paid approximately $12.2 million on those claims. Medicaid paid approximately $67,000 on those claims. The indictment also seeks the forefeiture of two properties owned by Nguyen and one property owned by Husaini, which were paid for, at least in part, using proceeds of the alleged fraud.
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