A number of medical suppliers have been caught in fraud and kickback schemes this year, including Medtronic and Beach medical Suppliers.
Thirteen suppliers caught in schemes in 2023:
1. Simon Orobor, owner of Devotion Medical Supply and Durable Medical Supply, which provided equipment including knee, back, shoulder and wrist braces, pleaded guilty for his role in an $11 million kickback scheme.
2. Brett Weiner and Valerie Desalvo, who owned and operated Boca Raton, Fla.-based Laboratory Marketing Services, pleaded guilty to buying and selling fake physician orders used to obtain more than $1.5 million in fraudulent Medicare payments.
3. Julian Latty, operator of Beach Medical Suppliers, and co-conspirator Jordan Thomas Broome pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud Medicare, requesting over $4 million in reimbursement and receiving over $2 million.
4. A medical equipment provider, AZ Diabetic Supply, and owner Hisham Zaghal were ordered to pay $12 million in damages and penalties after being found liable in a Medicare fraud scheme.
5. Lincare Holdings, a chemical company that provides oxygen equipment to patients with respiratory issues, agreed to pay $29 million and perform corrective actions to resolve allegations of fraudulently overbilling Medicare.
6. A Florida resident was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in an $11 million scheme to defraud Medicare by supplying fraudulent orders for durable medical equipment. Anthony Cracchiolo and a partner owned five fraudulent medical equipment companies, which they used to file $11 million in fraudulent Medicare claims.
7. Kenric Griffin, co-owner of New Horizons Durable Medical Equipment in Frisco, Texas, was convicted of a $5.1 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme.
8. Since 2011, Medtronic and its subsidiaries have paid more than $60 million in settlements related to kickback schemes and fraud claims.
9. The Lakewood, N.J.-based owner of a medical equipment company, Alexander Schleider, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare.
10. A federal jury found a California woman, Tamara Motley, 54, guilty of leading a scheme that billed Medicare more than $24 million in fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and repairs.
11. A Florida business owner was sentenced to 65 months in prison for a Medicare fraud scheme involving back, knee and wrist braces. Christopher Margait previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in 2022.
12. A medical equipment company based in Plymouth Meeting, Pa., agreed April 21 to pay $5.3 million to settle allegations of submitting false claims. The settlement resolves allegations against AdaptHealth, formerly known as QMES, and Tri-County Medical Equipment and Supply.
13. Two medical equipment suppliers were convicted of healthcare fraud with a scheme worth $3.8 million, according to the Justice Department. Meik Medical Equipment and Supply owner Ikechukwu Udeokoro, 47, and the company's manager, Ayodeji Fasonu, 56, billed Medicaid and Medicare "for hundreds of expensive patient support systems that were never provided to patients or caregivers."