DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Businessman Mohammed Sadiq billed Medicare for home health services that were not provided and paid kickbacks to patient recruiters to get Medicare information, which Sadiq then used to bill Medicare for services, officials said.
Authorities said these services were not medically necessary or weren’t provided at all.
Sadiq also admitted that he created fake patient files to fool a Medicare auditor by making it appear as if home health services were provided and necessary.
Medicare paid $12.6 million for these services, officials said.
Thursday, a federal judge sentenced Sadiq, who is the owner of Detroit Home Health Care Companies, to six years and eight months in prison, officials said.
Eleven other individuals have been convicted in this $12.6 million Medicare scheme, according to authorities.
Sadiq, 67, of Oakland County, Michigan, plead guilty on March 13 to one count of health care fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
In addition to imposing the prison term, U.S. District Judge Denise Page ordered Sadiq to pay $14.1 million in restitution.
Sadiq admitted that he owes approximately $1.5 million in taxes, interest and penalties for tax years 2008 through 2010, officials said.