Fraudulent Nigerians in Houston

[Toyin Falola]

VIDEO OF NEWS CONFERENCE OF BUST

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/media/videos/play.php?image=113006medicaid&id=216

 

 

Names and Business Addresses of Suspects:

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/newspubs/releases/2006/113006suspects.pdf

 

 

THE 33 SUSPECTS ARRESTED

 

1.  Akpan Sumuel Etukudo

2.  Udofia Bassey Willie

3.  Marcel Larry Ajiero

4.  Ollie Elvin Ross

5.  Godsen Samuel Udosen

6.  Ededem Edem

VIDEO OF ARREST OF EDEM

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/media/videos/play.php?image=112806edem&id=211

7.  Samuel Ekpenyong Edem

8.  Ordy Chikodi Nwachukwu

9.  Charles Byron Chandler

10.  Brodrick Jermaine Carter

11.  Ohaeto Maduabuchi

12. Ibanga Marcus Ekpo

13.  Offombuk Udeme Eshett

14A. Richard Kankam

14B.  Millicent Cindy Kankam

15.  Ekpedema Obot

16.  Emmanuel Gabriels

17.  Paul Etim Udo

18.  Godwin Chukwuemeka Arisukwu

19.  Collins C. Olorondu

20.  Kevin Okechukwu Onwudiwe

21.  Wasin Tadese

22.  Bridget Daffour Antwi

23.  Joseph Itaedet Duke

24.  Ukana Bassey Akpan

25A. Demetria Renee Broussard

25B. Caron Collins Broussard

26.  Shandrekya Jazell Lee

27.  Callishus Chima Duruji

28.  Cyprain Ohueri

29.  Emmanuel Effiong Nyo

30  Richard Thomason Akpabio

31.  Emem Dominic Ukpong

------

 

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/cj_fugitives/cj_fugitive_detail_arrested.php?id=779

Arrested:
Ededem  Edem

Offense:

DOB: 05/10/1977

Gender: Male

Race: Black

Warrant Issued:

Confirmed with:

Date Arrested: November 28, 2006

County Arrested: Fort Bend

Other Information:
Ededem Edem, president of Houston-based Edison Medical Supplies Inc. was indicted by a Harris County grand jury on Nov. 27, 2006, for second-degree felony aggregate theft by a government contractor for billing and receiving payments of over $100,000 from the Medicaid program for adult diapers that were never delivered to Medicaid recipients. The indictment states that the theft occurred between Jan 1, 2003, and March 9, 2006. The Texas Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Unit arrested Edem at his Sugar Land home. Edison Medical Supplies is located at 9894 Bissonnet Street in Houston. A conviction on the theft charge carries punishment of 2-20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Information current as of November 29, 2006.

 

 

http://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagnews/release.php?id=1828

 

 

News Releases

Child Support            Consumer Protection Crime Victim Services Criminal Justice Cyber Crimes Kids' Page Opinions            Open Government Senior Texans Texas-Mexico Border

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Attorney General Abbott's Medicaid Fraud Unit Uncovers Multi-million Dollar Scheme; 33 Indicted

Investigation targets businesses for defrauding state healthcare program

HOUSTON - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced multiple indictments and arrests in connection with a six-month investigation by the Office of Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) into a fraudulent scheme that allegedly cost taxpayers more than $7.7 million. Prosecutors with Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal's office presented information to a Harris County grand jury, which handed down indictments against 28 men and five women for felony theft.

The MFCU's investigation focused on 32 businesses in Harris County that billed Medicaid for adult diapers, wheelchairs, and other medical supplies. According to the indictments, the suspects accepted reimbursements, based on those billings, for supplies that were never delivered to Medicaid patients. The case was referred to the Office of Attorney General by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which received complaints against the providers.

Texas will not tolerate criminals who defraud taxpayers," said Attorney General Abbott. "The Medicaid program is designed to help the neediest Texans, including children and seniors, with basic health care services. Thanks to an outstanding joint effort by officers from our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Harris County Sheriff's Department and the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department, a scam that harmed Medicaid recipients and wasted taxpayer dollars has been shut down."

Attorney General Abbott added: "We commend the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for bringing this case to our attention, and we are grateful to Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal for vigorously prosecuting these criminals."

Last July, the Attorney General's office deployed 27 MFCU investigators and eight investigative auditors to the Houston area to investigate these fraud allegations. Personnel from the Office of Attorney General conducted more than 1,200 interviews and prepared numerous investigative reports that supported the district attorney's appearance before the grand jury Monday. (The names of those arrested, as well as their businesses, are included as a separate attachment.)

In 2005 alone, the costs of the Medicaid program in Texas totaled more than $17 billion. As the state's chief law enforcement official, Attorney General Abbott has dramatically expanded the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to save more taxpayer dollars and increase protection for Texas seniors. The Unit has established field offices in Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Lubbock, McAllen, San Antonio and Tyler through authorization and funding from the 77th Texas Legislature. Attorney General Abbott's MFCU works with state and local agencies across the state to identify and prosecute those who defraud Medicaid.

Attorney General Abbott's MFCU was honored in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with the Inspector General's State Fraud Award for effectiveness and efficiency during federal fiscal year 2003 in combating fraud, patient abuse and neglect in the Medicaid program.

To obtain more information about the Attorney General's efforts to fight Medicaid fraud, access the agency's Web site at www.oag.state.tx.us.

 

COMPATRIOTS:

 

WATCH VIDEO:  http://www.khou.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=105205&catId=35

DO WE KNOW ANY OF THESE PEOPLE ON THE VIDEO ?

DO WE KNOW THE NAMES OF THE INDICTED NIGERIANS - 28 MEN AND 5 WOMEN?

 

------------------------

Nov. 30, 2006, 11:22PM

CRACKDOWN IN HOUSTON

33 indicted in Medicaid fraud probe
Local health-care firms are accused of overbilling or submitting false claims for supplies

By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A Harris County grand jury handed up indictments this week against the owners and employees at 32 health-care companies, following a sweeping probe of Medicaid fraud in the Houston area.

The indictments of 28 men and 5 women on charges of felony theft came after a six-month investigation by the state Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The fraud was estimated at $7.5 million, Attorney General Greg Abbott said Thursday.

Investigators focused their inquiry on 32 Houston-area companies accused of either overbilling Medicaid or submitting claims for supplies, such as wheelchairs or adult diapers, that were never delivered to the patients.

"This is one of the largest operations that we've seen (and) that we've pieced together, involving this many people at once," Abbott said.

$1 billion a year in costs

In 2005, Medicaid costs in Texas totaled more than $17 billion. Abbott said fraud costs state taxpayers about $1 billion per year.

Abbott said the suspects may be associated with one another.

"Some of them may have been operating this scheme in a somewhat collaborative basis," he said. "In the end, we just can't say yet what the connection is."

Abbott said 16 arrests have been made so far this week. Of those still at-large, eight are now thought to be in other countries. Most of the suspects are from Nigeria.

"We're working with international authorities to try and track them down, arrest them, and have them brought back to Texas," Abbott said.

The attorney general's office launched its investigation after officials with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission — the state agency responsible for overseeing Medicaid — reported discrepancies in requests for reimbursement submitted by the companies.

"We began to notice that they all came from the same geographic area. That was kind of unusual," said Rick Copeland, a retired FBI agent who heads Abbott's Medicaid fraud division.

Life sentence possible

One of the targets of the investigation, Ededem Edem, 29, was accused of bilking taxpayers out of more than $100,000 worth of fraudulent Medicaid claims from January 2003 through March. "He could very well spend the rest of his life behind bars," Abbott said.

Some of the victims learned of the fraud scheme after they attempted to access Medicaid and were told that their funds in the program had already been exhausted.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office will prosecute the cases.

mike....@chron.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Texas AG announces arrest of 33 in Medicaid fraud case
By RASHA MADKOUR

Associated Press Writer

HOUSTON — More than 30 people have been charged with Medicaid fraud after allegedly getting $7.7 million in reimbursement for medical supplies through inflated billing or false claims from unwitting patients, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Thursday.

The 33 charged were connected to Houston-area businesses that had falsely billed for adult diapers, wheelchairs, and other medical supplies, Abbott said. Anyone found guilty of stealing more than $100,000 could face up to life in prison on the felony charges.

"This is one of the largest operations we've seen," Abbott said.

The suspects, mostly from Nigeria, are believed to be loosely connected. Sixteen arrests have been made this week, Abbott said. Eight were still at large overseas.

The investigation showed that "fraud, abuse and stealing in the Medicaid system is very rampant," he said. "We are sending a message: Texas taxpayers will not tolerate criminals who steal from the Medicaid system."

The state's budget for the federal insurance program for low-income citizens totals about $17 billion. Fraud, abuse and waste account for up to 10 percent of that, Abbott said.

"We're talking about a billion-dollar-a-year issue," Abbott said.

This week's arrests grew from complaints to the Texas Health and Human Services Department. Some of the victims — mostly senior citizens — learned about the scam when they tried to buy supplies and were told they had used up their Medicaid allotment, Abbott said.

The suspects either grossly overbilled for the services or submitted claims for people who did not request them, according to an investigation involving 27 agents and upward of 1,200 interviews. Most of the time, the fraudulent claims were for no more than $5,000 at a time and were spread among legitimate bills filed to Medicaid for repayment.

"As a result of this scam, we're realizing that it is so very easy for people to get into the business of submitting these Medicaid claims," Abbott said.

He said his office is looking into stiffening the requirements but is wary of complicating the process for people seeking the services.

The Harris County District Attorney's Office will prosecute the cases.

___

November 30, 2006 - 4:40 p.m. EST

 

-- 

---------------------------
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7224
512 475 7222  (fax)
http://www.toyinfalola.com/
www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue