Houston Man Guilty in Patient Information Tracking Scheme
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 20, 2011 |
BEAUMONT, TX—A 44-year-old Houston man has pleaded guilty to federal health care fraud charges in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Lodrick “Chidi” Eneh pleaded guilty to illegal remunerations charges today before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. Eneh was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal service following his plea.
According to the indictment, from September 2006 until November 2008, Houston businessman, Eneh conspired to pay and receive kickbacks for the referral of Medicare patients. Eneh entered into arrangements with Anthony Nnadi, Chima Imoh, and John Nasky Okonkwo, owners of medical supply businesses, in which he agreed to provide them with patient information that would be used to submit claims to Medicare. After the business owners submitted claims to Medicare and were reimbursed, they would split a percentage of the proceeds with Eneh. Eneh was indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 5, 2011.
Nnadi, Imoh, and Nasky have all pleaded guilty to health care fraud offenses. Nnadi and Nasky await sentencing on the charges. On Jan. 5, 2011, Imoh was sentenced to a five year term of probation, 120 days of house arrest, and ordered to pay $56,000 in restitution to Medicare for his role in the scheme.
Eneh faces up to five years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.
The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by agents from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the Texas Office of the Attorney General - Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (OAG-MFCU), and the FBI. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld is prosecuting this case.