A federal grand jury in Los Angeles on March 20 convicted two former owners of California medical device companies of submitting fraudulent claims to Medicare for power wheelchairs and other equipment totaling $6.8 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The trial proved that former Colonial Medical Supply owner Hakop Gambaryan personally delivered power wheelchairs to beneficiaries who were able to walk without assistance, according to the DOJ. In one case, Gambaryan carried a power wheelchair up a flight of stairs for a woman who lived in a second floor apartment with no elevator.
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Between 2006 and 2012, Gambaryan, 55, of East Hollywood, submitted approximately $3.3 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, and received more than $1.7 million, according to the DOJ.
In addition, Gambaryan paid cash kickbacks to medical clinics for fraudulent prescriptions for durable medical equipment such as the expensive power wheelchairs. Gambaryan generated false documentation, photocopying beneficiary signatures hundreds of times to create the appearance that the beneficiaries consented to the medical equipment rentals. In reality, at least two of the beneficiaries had passed away prior to the date they supposedly signed the rental agreements, the DOJ said.
Separately, Sylvia Walter-Eze, 48, of Stevenson Ranch, California, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, four counts of healthcare fraud, and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive illegal kickbacks, according to the DOJ.
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Between 2007 and 2012, Walter-Eze, former owner of Ezcor Medical Supply, billed $3.5 million in the Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme, the release stated. She received $1.9 million in reimbursement for those claims, DOJ said.
Walter-Eze paid illegal kickbacks to patient recruiters in exchange for patient referrals and paid kickbacks to physicians for fraudulent prescriptions, primarily for medically unnecessary and expensive power wheelchairs, according to the DOJ.
Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN