WASHINGTON—An owner and operator of a Houston durable medical equipment (DME) company was sentenced today in Houston federal court to 30 months in prison for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Akinsunbo Akinbile, 44, of Richmond, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston. In addition to his prison term, Akinbile was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $471,022 in restitution.
Akinbile pleaded guilty on November 29, 2011 to eight counts of health care fraud.
According to court documents, Akinbile was the owner and operator of Hallco Medical Supply, a company that purported to provide orthotics and other DME to Medicare beneficiaries. According to court documents, Hallco submitted claims to Medicare for DME, including orthotic devices that were medically unnecessary and/or not provided. Many of the orthotic devices were components of an “arthritis kit,” and purported to be for the treatment of arthritis-related conditions. The arthritis kit generally contained a number of orthotic devices including braces for both sides of the body and related accessories such as heating pads. From June 2007 through May 2009, Akinbile submitted claims of approximately $737,770 to Medicare and was paid approximately $471,022.
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