A Texas home health operator has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $11 million in restitution related to a Medicare and Medicaid fraud case, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
Audu Ozigi was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud for falsifying patient files and fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid for home health services, according to the Texas AG release.
“Ozigi acted as an operator of home health agencies owned by co-conspirator Margaret Arise. Together, they conspired with others to falsify patient files, pay marketers, and offer kickbacks to referring physicians for signing unnecessary home health orders. They systematically submitted claims to government healthcare programs for services that were not provided, not medically required, or both,” the release stated.