Sylvia Smith, a 64-year-old retired nurse in the Houston area was convicted of health care fraud on Jan 27.
According to the Department of Justice, Smith and Houston area business owner Noel Jhagroo had submitted over $700,000 of false claims to Medicare.
Jhagroo, owner of Truecare Medical Equipment Services, testified that he and Smith had entered into an arrangement where he would pay 10 percent of the amount Medicare paid Truecare for each patient Smith recruited.
Smith and Jhagroo had claims to Medicare for high-priced specialized nutrition supplies given to patients with feeding tubes. However, none the patients Smith had referred to Truecare had feeding tubes and were instead given over-the-counter nutritional supplements instead.
Smith is facing a maximum of 60 years in prison for six counts of health care fraud, 10 years for conspiracy, and a $250,000 fine for each count.
According to the Department of Justice, Smith and Houston area business owner Noel Jhagroo had submitted over $700,000 of false claims to Medicare.
Jhagroo, owner of Truecare Medical Equipment Services, testified that he and Smith had entered into an arrangement where he would pay 10 percent of the amount Medicare paid Truecare for each patient Smith recruited.
Smith and Jhagroo had claims to Medicare for high-priced specialized nutrition supplies given to patients with feeding tubes. However, none the patients Smith had referred to Truecare had feeding tubes and were instead given over-the-counter nutritional supplements instead.
Smith is facing a maximum of 60 years in prison for six counts of health care fraud, 10 years for conspiracy, and a $250,000 fine for each count.
