Two Texas-based nurses have been sentenced to prison for their role in a $1.5 million fraud scheme, the state attorney general said in an April 25 news release.
Joseph Nwankwo, 59, of Houston, and Stacey Ajajo, 51, of Richmond, co-owned Hefty Healthcare Services and secured patient referrals by paying illegal kickbacks and fraudulently billed Medicare, according to the release. Mr. Nwankwo was also convicted of bribing a physician to authorize medically unnecessary home healthcare services.
Mr. Nwankwo was sentenced to 36 months in prison and must pay $1.2 million to Medicare. Ms. Ajajo was sentenced to 14 months and must pay $238,174.