Jury indicts three in giant DME fraud scheme
By HME News Staff
Updated Sun December 26, 2004
December 27, 2004
DALLAS - A federal grand jury issued a 43-count indictment last week against the owners of three DME companies, charging they billed Medicare for more than $27 million in phony power wheelchair claims, according to the Associated Press.
The grand jury indicted Aniekeme B. Akpabot, owner of Mina Medical Equipment and Supplies in Mesquite; Okon Eyo Idiong, owner of OK Medical Equipment and Supplies and OK Medical Equipment and Supplies of Southfield, Mich.; and Aniefiok Jimmy Eking, owner of Medical Equipment and Supplies and Mescorp Pharmaceuticals of Houston.Â
Authorities said last week that the three defendants named in the new indictments were the main players in a fraud scheme that operated across the southern and southwestern United States, the AP reported.
According to the indictment, the three defrauded Medicare from July 2002 until August 2003 by soliciting patients and finding doctors to help obtain certificates of medical necessity.
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