by Andrew Murray | November 13th, 2019
The Department of Justice made the announcement on October 11, 2019. The Press Release states:
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Two Houston area nurses are set to appear in federal court on charges they defrauded Medicare of more than $2.1 million, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick.
The indictment, returned under seal Oct. 9, was unsealed today upon the arrests of Joseph Nwankwo, 56, Houston, and Stacey Ajaja, 49, Richmond. They are expected to make their initial appearance at 2 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy K. Johnson today.
According to the indictment, Nwankwo and Ajaja co-owned Hefty Healthcare Services Inc. From 2014 through 2016, Hefty allegedly billed Medicare for home health services that were never provided and not medically necessary. Nwankwo and Ajaja obtained patient referrals by paying marketers and patients and bribed physicians to authorize medically unnecessary home health services for Hefty patients, according to the charges. The indictment also alleges they created phony medical records to perpetrate the healthcare fraud.
Nwankwo and Ajaja are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
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