CEO of Raleigh Healthcare Company Sentenced to 80 Months in Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Healthcare Fraud

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Raleigh CEO will serve 80 months in prison for Healthcare Fraud.

Tanya Grant, 51, was sentenced today for a health care fraud scheme carried out between 2017 and 2021 through two companies she controlled – Carolina Rehab Products Inc. (CRP), also known as Atlantic Brace, in Raleigh; and Blue File DME, LLC (Blue File), in Dunn.  These companies were licensed to supply durable medical equipment, such as neck and back braces, to Medicare beneficiaries.  Grant pled guilty to the charge on July 6, 2022.

“This defendant was motivated by greed, scheming to steal millions in taxpayer dollars meant for senior citizens and the needy,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.  “She used her fraud to fuel her lavish lifestyle, including a vacation home, luxury cars, jewelry, and a boat.  Health care fraud like this costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year.  We will use every avenue to root it out and bring offenders to justice.” 

To carry out the scheme and enrich herself, the investigation showed that Grant purchased lists of Medicare patient names from companies overseas.  She then billed Medicare for purportedly supplying these patients with durable medical equipment.  In many cases, Medicare was billed even though no equipment was shipped.  Medicare was also billed by Grant’s companies for supplying medical equipment to 422 deceased individuals.  When audited by Medicare contractors, the evidence showed that Grant forged physician orders if no such order existed in her files to support her billings.

In total, Grant caused CRP and Blue File to bill Medicare for more than $50 Million in durable medical equipment between 2014 and 2021, of which Medicare paid Grant more than $17 Million.  Grant used these funds to purchase a home in Raleigh, a townhome in Florida, a Porsche, several Range Rovers, several Jeeps, boat, jewelry, art, and electronics, as well as amassing more than a million dollars in cash and investments. These assets have been seized by the government to be used to recover the stolen funds.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced Grant.  The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys William M. Gilmore and Karen Haughton prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00253-BO .

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