Ms. Mitchell-Straughter was an administrative assistant at two Houston-area durable medical equipment companies: Family Healthcare Services and its successor company, Family DME Inc. Ms. Quinteros was a patient recruiter.
The defendants admitted that Family DME billed Medicare for expensive, rigid orthotics and braces that were packaged together and referred to as an “arthritis kit,” at a cost of approximately $4,000 per kit, when in fact, the equipment supplied was not medically necessary and in many cases not even supplied, according to the release. In total, Family DME submitted more than $1.505 million in claims to Medicare.
Sentencing for Ms. Mitchell-Straughter and Ms. Quinteros is scheduled for June 18, 2010. The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to the release. Four other defendants are scheduled for trial beginning on March 29, 2010.
Read the FBI’s release on the Houston DME Medicare fraud scheme.
