Supply company owner Vivian Yusuf gets 7 years, $1.6 million fine for Medicare fraud

Vivian Yusuf was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in September.

The former owner of a Texas medical supply company has been sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay $1.6 million in restitution on a conviction of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Last week, Vivian Yusuf, 44, the former owner of the Houston-area Ivy Health Care Supply, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in September, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney John M. Bales.

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From June 2007 to May 2009, Yusuf and co-conspirators improperly acquired Medicare patient information to submit false claims to Medicare totaling more than $3.4 million, according to Bales.

Yusuf, Aghaegbuna “Ike” Odelugo, James Reese, and others carried out a scheme to defraud Medicare through the marketing of power wheelchairs and accessories, as well as “ortho kits,” according to the release. They supplied beneficiaries with kits and power wheelchairs which were not prescribed or otherwise authorized by a physician and which were not wanted by the beneficiaries, it stated.

As part of the scheme, the defendant and co-conspirators illegally obtained protected health information, including names, dates of birth, and Medicare numbers from elderly individuals, according to authorities.

The defendants forged physicians' signatures on prescriptions and certificates of medical necessity, and altered prescriptions and CMNs after they had been signed by physicians, Bales said.

Claims were submitted by the defendant and co-conspirators for approximately 790 beneficiaries located primarily in Texas and Louisiana, he said.  In some instances, false claims were submitted to Medicare in the names of Medicare beneficiaries who were deceased, he said.

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In January 2012, Yusuf was indicted for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Odelugo and Reese were indicted for their involvement in similar healthcare fraud schemes.

Odelugo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, health care fraud, and money laundering and was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison. The loss to Medicare as a result of Odelugo’s scheme was approximately $9.9 million.

Reese pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud and tax evasion and was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison.  The loss to Medicare as a result of Reese’s scheme was approximately $8.6 million.

Yusuf, formerly of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, was listed on the the Office of the Inspector General’s most wanted fugitive list. Yusuf was arrested June 3, 2014, at Houston International Airport after arriving on a flight from Nigeria, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of the Inspector General, the Texas Office of the Attorney General – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Office of the Inspector General’s list of most wanted health care fugitives includes more than 170 fugitives. 

Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN