Business Owner Heads to Prison for Health Care Offenses Perpetrated in Texas and Louisiana
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 12, 2012 |
HOUSTON—Endurance Iyamu, 48, of Houston, has been handed a 30-month prison sentence following his convictions of conspiracy and health care fraud, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Iyamu pleaded guilty July 13, 2012.
Today, U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Iyamu 30 months on the conspiracy charge and 30 months for committing health care fraud to be served concurrently. He was further ordered to pay $663,371 in restitution to the Medicare Program.
According to court documents, Iyamu owned and operated Skyline Medical, a durable medical equipment (DME) company located and operating in Lafayette, Louisiana. From January 2007 through December 2009, Iyamu submitted claims to Medicare totaling approximately $1,232,306 and received payments for those claims totaling approximately $663,371. The claims requested payment for items such as neck, knee, shoulder, and ankle braces. However, the products were not provided as billed, Medicare beneficiaries neither requested nor needed the products, physicians did not prescribe the products, and the products were not medically necessary for the true condition of Medicare beneficiary.
Iyamu acknowledge as part of the scheme to defraud Medicare, he unlawfully purchased and received from his conspirators the personal health information of Medicare beneficiaries. The personal health information included names addresses, diagnosis codes, and Medicare numbers. Iyamu used the Medicare beneficiary information to submit claims to Medicare for purportedly providing DME. Although Skyline Medical was located in Louisiana, the majority of the claims submitted were for Medicare beneficiaries residing in the Southern District of Texas.
Iyamu will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prison facility to be determined in the near future.
This case is the result of a joint investigation between agents of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General and the FBI. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blan is prosecuting this case.