Nigerian Sentenced for East Texas Health Care Fraud Violations

TYLER — A 44-year-old woman, formerly of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, has been sentenced to federal prison for a health care fraud scheme. Vivian Yusuf pleaded guilty on September 17 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. She was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider. Yusuf was a fugitive for several years before her arrest June 3, 2014 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Federal prosecutors say from June 2007 to May 2009, 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. 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.