Former Owner of Metro Medical Equipment and Supply Sentenced on Wire Fraud Charges

Syed Haque, 53, formerly of Troy, Michigan and a former owner and general manager of a Dearborn-based durable medical equipment (DME) provider, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay $478,748.49 in restitution to Medicare and $2,113.81 to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan for his conviction for mail fraud by United States District Judge Paul D. Borma, announced United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade.

Haque was charged in December 2010 in a four-count indictment with mail fraud and false statements to federal investigators, for his role in a scheme involving fraudulent health care billings. Haque was the former owner and general manager of Metro Medical Equipment and Supply (MMES), a DME provider based in Dearborn, Michigan, between January 2000 and June 2004. The investigation was based upon information alleging MMES submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare supported by falsely documented files. The patient files revealed beneficiaries being diagnosed by a licensed physician with arthritis in the knee. The beneficiaries were given low priced knee sleeves/braces valued at approximately $35 to $65 per knee brace; however, as part of his fraudulent scheme, Medicare was being billed as though the beneficiaries received a more complex and expensive knee brace valued at $595 per knee brace, generally worn by individuals with malformed knees. Investigative and data analysis revealed that from January 2000 through July 2004, Haque submitted claims for the L1880 knee brace to Medicare totaling approximately $762,215.00, of which $567,909.84 was reimbursed to MMES via the United States Postal Service.

After an interview of Haque in June 2006, Haque fled the United States to Pakistan. In November 2007, the government filed a Criminal Complaint against Haque in the Eastern District of Michigan. On December 6, 2009, Haque was arrested at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston, Texas by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as he was re-entering the United States from Pakistan.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Michigan by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Varner and Jennifer Blackwell. The case was investigated by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Health and Human Services.