Owners of Medical Equipment Company Plead Guilty to Federal Charge of Health Care Fraud
Admit Filing False Claims to D.C. Medicaid

WASHINGTON—Jacob Rafi, 54, the owner and president of DC Medical Supply Inc., and his wife, Rena Rafi, 49, the company’s managing director, have pled guilty to health care fraud in connection with the firm’s fraudulent billing practices.

The guilty plea, which took place August 3, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Nicholas DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), for the region including the District of Columbia, and Charles J. Willoughby, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

Jacob and Rena Rafi, of Silver Spring, Maryland, pled guilty before the Honorable Magistrate Judge Alan Kay. They are to be sentenced on October 30, 2012, before the Honorable Judge Ellen S. Huvelle. Each faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Under the advisory federal sentencing guidelines, the likely range of imprisonment is six to 12 months.

DC Medical, also known as More Mobility, located in the 5900 block of Georgia Avenue NW, is a provider of medical equipment and supplies including, incontinence supplies and garments, wheelchairs, and other medical devices to Medicaid beneficiaries. During their plea, the Rafis admitted that between January 2007 through December 2010, they submitted false claims to D.C. Medicaid for incontinence products that were never provided to D.C. Medicaid beneficiaries. As a result of the fraud, they derived at least $70,000 in profits.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the District of Columbia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit remains committed to uncovering and prosecuting health care professionals who abuse the public trust and enrich themselves through fraud and abuse.

U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin, Inspector General Levinson, and Inspector General Willoughby commended the investigative work of agents of the Health Care Fraud Squad of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the D.C. Office of the Inspector General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. U.S. Attorney Machen also commended the efforts of Paralegal Specialists Diane Hayes and Krishawn Graham and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Scruggs, who handled asset forfeiture issues in the case. Finally, he praised the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Lionel André, who investigated and prosecuted the case.