Two Sentenced In Medicare Wheelchair Fraud

Two Dallas-area men were sentenced to prison last week by US District Judge Sam A. Lindsay for their roles in a scheme involving submission of fraudulent claims to Medicare for power wheelchairs and accessories. Friday Udo Johnny, the owner of Metropolitan Home Medical Equipment in Grand Prairie, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, and Emmanuel “Bob” Edet of Mesquite was sentenced to 30 months in prison; both were ordered to pay restitution. Both men pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and pay illegal remunerations. They admitted to conspiring to pay illegal kickbacks to Lloyd McGriff, M.D., a Dallas physician currently serving a 16 month federal prison sentence. McGriff executed 257 fraudulent Certificates of Medical Necessity (CMNs) for which Johnny and Edet paid $200 each. Over an 11 month period in 2002 and 2003, they submitted more than $1.7 million in claims to Medicare, and Medicare paid the two men $905,000 based on the fraudulent CMNs and claims. Dallas Morning News, DOJ.