A medical equipment provider was ordered to pay $12 million in damages and penalties after being found liable in a Medicare fraud scheme.
Medicare paid AZ Diabetic Supply more than $600,000 in reimbursement claims for medical braces for prescriptions the company illegally purchased from marketing companies, according to a Sept. 22 Justice Department news release.
AZ Diabetic Supply, through its owner Hisham Zaghal, paid a fee for each prescription it purchased, according to the release. It used the prescriptions and personal and medical data provided by the marketing companies to submit 923 fraudulent Medicare claims for reimbursement.
Mr. Zaghal reached a separate agreement for his alleged role in the scheme and agreed to pay $10,000 and accept $10,000 and accept a three-year voluntary exclusion from federally funded healthcare programs. He also agreed to forgo $57,690.12 funds in escrow held by HHS. There was no determination of liability in the claims against Mr. Zaghal.