HOUSTON, Texas — Two home health agency owners from Missouri City have been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding millions from Medicare, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
72-year-old Vincent Nwabeke, and 70-year-old Victoria Nwabeke, both of Missouri City, Texas, were the co-owners of Vital Ambulatory Healthcare Inc. from 2012 to 2018. Vincent Nwabeke pleaded guilty on April 20 to making false statements in a health care matter, while Victoria Nwabeke admitted to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on Sept. 16, 2019.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett ordered Victoria Nwabeke to serve 48 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $8,523,917.11 in restitution to Medicare. Vincent Nwabeke, who served as Vital’s Chief Financial Officer, was previously sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment and ordered to pay $1,084,996 in restitution to Medicare.
Victoria Nwabeke admitted to obtaining patient referrals by paying kickbacks to marketers and patients and bribing physicians to authorize medically unnecessary home health services for Vital patients. She also admitted to billing Medicare over $8 million in fraudulent claims for home health services.
Source: Missouri City home health agency owners sentenced for Medicare fraud / MyTexasDaily.com