Captured Fugitive Guilty of Health Care Fraud Violations

TYLER � A 44-year-old captured fugitive has pleaded guilty in connection with a federal health care fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales. Vivian Yusuf, formerly of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on Sep. 17 in Tyler before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. Yusuf, a fugitive, wanted since March 2011, was arrested on June 3, 2014, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Yusuf had been indicted for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft on Jan. 12, 2012.

According to information presented in court, Yusuf, the former owner of Ivy Health Care Supply, a Houston-area medical supply company, and 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,� which primarily consisted of a bag of orthotic items, including braces, wraps, and supports, and a heat lamp or heat pad. As part of the scheme, the defendant and her co-conspirators illegally obtained protected health information, including names, dates of birth, and Medicare numbers from elderly individuals.

Officials say Yusuf and her co-conspirators 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. Claims were submitted by the defendant and her co-conspirators for approximately 790 beneficiaries located primarily in Texas and Louisiana. In some instances, physicians� signatures were forged and false claims were submitted to Medicare in the names of Medicare beneficiaries who were deceased. By means of fraudulent billing practices, the defendant and her co-conspirators unlawfully submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare of more than $3.4 million and obtained more than $1.6 million.

Odelugo and Reese were indicted for their involvement in similar health care fraud schemes. Odelugo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care 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 health care 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 faces up to 10 years in federal prison when she appears before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider for sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.