North Texas Doctor Sentenced To 16+ Years For Fraud
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A North Texas physician must serve nearly 17 years in federal prison and repay $34 million in a health care services fraud case involving home visits.
Dr. Noble U. Ezukanma of Fort Worth was sentenced Wednesday in Dallas. Prosecutors say the 57-year-old Ezukanma was part of the Medicare fraud scheme. The companies, 'US Physician Home Visits' of Dallas, 'A Good Home Health' of Dallas and 'Essence Home Health' of Addison were the companies that billed some $50 million in fake services.
The physician was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and six counts of health care fraud in March.
Prosecutors say a co-defendant, Myrna S. Parcon of Dallas, was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison and ordered to repay about $51 million in the scam involving Medicare beneficiaries.
Investigators say many patients were certified for home health care, whether they needed it or not, from 2009 through mid-2013.
Prosecutors said Ezukanma and a group of others only billed for the "most comprehensive" physician exams, and always added codes for prolonged service. The group always submitted Medicare claims for doctor's visits of 90 minutes or more, when in fact most only took 15 to 20 minutes.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)