Owner and Manager of New York Medical Equipment Provider Charged in $3.5 Million Scheme to Defraud Government-Funded Health Plans

Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging Ikechukwu Udeokoro and Ayodeji Fasonu for their roles in an alleged scheme to submit over $3.5 million in fraudulent claims to private insurers, which included government-sponsored managed care organizations.  Udeokoro and Fasonu were the owner and manager, respectively, of Meik Medical Equipment and Supply LLC, a purported durable medical equipment (DME) company in Bronx, New York.  The defendants were arrested this morning and their initial appearance is scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James Orenstein.

Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Kenneth A. Blanco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) and Scott J. Lampert, Special Agent-in-Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, New York Region (HHS OIG), announced the charges.

According to the indictment, beginning in approximately December 2010 and continuing through at least February 2014, Udeokoro and Fasonu executed a scheme in which they submitted fraudulent claims to private insurers, including those that participated in Medicare Part C, for reimbursement for DME that was purportedly provided to the insurers’ members, many of whom were elderly or disabled and had insurance through Medicare Advantage plans or New York Medicaid Managed Care plans.  As part of the scheme, the defendants allegedly submitted claims to the private insurers for reimbursement for DME such as multi-positional patient support systems and combination sit-to-stand systems, when the defendants in fact provided the insurers’ members either nothing or a far less expensive product, such as a lift chair/recliner.  As alleged in the indictment, Meik Medical Equipment & Supply submitted more than $3.5 million in fraudulent claims.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The FBI and HHS OIG investigated the case, which was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  Trial Attorney Andrew Estes of the Fraud Section is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

IKECHUKWU UDEOKORO

Age:  41

Residence: West New York, New Jersey

AYODEJI FASONU

Age:  51

Residence: Stamford, Connecticut

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 17-CR-629 (AMD)