Industry Note:
HHA Owner Gets 8 Years In Jail For Medicare Fraud
Published on Fri Feb 17, 2012
The co-owner of a Los Angeles home health agency and durable medical equipment company has drawn an eight-year prison sentence and $7 million in restitution after being convicted of Medicare fraud. Evans Oniha and co-defendant Camillus Ehigie opened Prosperity Home Health Services Inc. and Caravan Medical Supplies Inc. in 2002, the Department of Justice says in a release. From 2002 to 2011, Oniha paid "marketers" for home care and DME patient information and bogus prescriptions, then submitted false claims to Medicare for unnecessary or never-provided services, prosecutors say. Ehigie pled guilty in the scheme and awaits sentencing in July, the DOJ says.