The individuals are alleged to have participated in a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of Patient Choice Home Healthcare and All American Home Care, both based in Oakland County, Mich. According to the indictment, Muhammad Shahab, Hassan Akhtar and Christopher Collins, who owned and operated Patient Choice and American, fraudulently billed Medicare for home health therapy services that were unnecessary and were never performed.
Mr. Collins and co-defendant Curtis Mallory were also charged with recruiting patients and paying them kickbacks for their Medicare information and signatures on documents that were then used to bill Medicare for home health services that were not rendered.
The indictment also alleges that co-defendant Mohammed El-Fallal used the identity of a licensed physician to sign physician referrals for home health therapy services that were medically unnecessary and not performed and co-defendants Jessica Vigil, Tariq Chaudhary, Faisal Chaudry and Visnhu Meda falsified medical records to make it appear that home health therapy services were provided.
The indictment alleges that Medicare paid Patient Choice and All American more than $14.5 million for services that were medically unnecessary and not provided between August 2007 and September 2009.
The defendants face up to 10 year in prison and a $250,000 fine for healthcare fraud conspiracy, five years in prison and a $25,000 fine for violating the Anti-Kickback Statute and additional years in prison and fines for money laundering.
Read the DOJ release on the Patient Choice Home Healthcare and All American Home Care fraud scheme.
