Owners of Home Health Care Agency Sentenced to Prison for Taking Part in $80 Million Medicaid Fraud

[nitpicker]

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owners-home-health-care-agency-sentenced-prison-taking-part-80-million-medicaid-fraud

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Owners of Home Health Care Agency Sentenced to Prison for Taking Part in $80 Million Medicaid Fraud

Defendants Used Money to Finance a Lavish Lifestyle

Florence Bikundi, 53, and her husband, Michael D. Bikundi Sr. 63, of Mitchellville, Maryland, and the owners of Global Healthcare Inc., a home care agency, were sentenced today to prison terms for health care fraud, money laundering, and other charges stemming from a scheme in which they and others defrauded the District of Columbia Medicaid program of over $80 million.
(snip)

The two defendants were found guilty on Nov. 12, 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Honorable Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell sentenced Florence Bikundi to 10 years in prison. She sentenced Michael D. Bikundi Sr. to seven years in prison. Following their prison terms, the Bikundis will be placed on three years of supervised release. Judge Howell earlier ordered them to forfeit over $11 million seized from 76 bank accounts; their residence, worth approximately $1 million; $73,000 in cash seized from their residence and five luxury vehicles with a total purchase price of more than $400,000. She also imposed a forfeiture money judgment of $39,989,956 on both defendants. Finally, Judge Howell ordered the defendants to pay $80,620,929 in restitution to D.C. Medicaid.
(snip)

According to evidence presented at trial, Florence Bikundi, a former nurse and her husband owned Global Healthcare Inc. According to the government’s evidence, Florence Bikundi was not entitled to take part in the Medicaid program and fraudulently got approval as a provider. Then, the government’s evidence showed, she and her husband led a scheme to bill Medicaid for services that were not fully provided – recruiting others, including family members, into the scam and creating fraudulent paperwork to hide the illegal activity.
(snip)

From August 2009 through February 2014, Florence and Michael Bikundi used Global HealthCare to carry out a massive fraud, the government’s evidence showed. Year after year, the D.C. Medicaid program was billed for personal home health aide services that were not fully provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. Phony time sheets, patient files and employment files were created. Global Healthcare generated increasing amounts of payments as the years continued, going from roughly $1.35 million in 2009 to $14.27 million in 2011 to $27.16 million in 2013.
(snip)

[DiverDave]

1. But run a BIGGER scam and get

Elected governor of Florida!

[malaise]

2. He too should be in prison

but these deserve their new residence.