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McKinney man sentenced to 60 months in federal fraud scheme
Emmanuel Akpan of McKinney gets federal jail time for his role in a motorized wheelchair fraud scheme.
By Danny Gallagher, McKinney Courier-Gazette
A McKinney man will serve time in a federal prison for his role in a scheme to bill Medicare for false claims of motorized wheelchairs.
Akpan owned and operated Atbestcare Medical Equipment and Supply Company of Dallas and conspired with Geneva Sanders, an employee of the emergency room at Methodist South Hospital of Memphis, Tenn. and Walter Sanders, owner of Waltco Medical Equipment and Supplies located in Mesquite, according to the indictment.
The object of the scheme was to "sell and use the means of identification of Medicare beneficiaries and physicians located in Tennessee and elsewhere to [several companies]…for the purpose of executing a scheme to defraud Medicare and to obtained money from Medicare through false representations," according to the indictment.
Sanders obtained the names and personal identification numbers of patents from hospital records and sent them to Sanders "without the authorization of such Medicare beneficiaries, in exchange for remuneration." Sanders and Akpan also visited or directed others to visit beneficiaries to obtain their personal information.
Officials estimate that Sanders and Akpan obtained more than 70 patient records as part of their scheme. They would immediately bill Medicare for false claims for power wheelchairs. After they submitted the claims, some of the beneficiaries would receive less expensive scooters or no equipment at all.
Prosecutors believe the scheme consisted of false claims ranging between $5,800 and $9,800 from February to August of 2003. The claims totaled more $2.7 million netting payments from Medicare totaling $1.3 million, according to the indictment.
Contact Danny Gallagher at dgallagher@acnpapers.com.
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