MM Curator summary:
Charlz and Angela Bisong of Texas paid Medicare members to sign up for unneccessary services so they could steal $10M from Medicare.
The article below has been highlighted and summarized by our research team. It is provided here for member convenience as part of our Curator service.
HOUSTON, TX — Two home health agency owners are set to appear in federal court on charges they fraudulently billed more than $10 million to Medicare, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Authorities arrested Tataw Charlz Bisong and Angela Bisong, both 57 and from Stafford, today. They are expected to make their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy at 2 p.m.
A federal grand jury in Houston returned the indictment under seal Dec. 9, which was unsealed today. It alleges the Bisongs co-owned SierCam Healthcare Services LLC. From 2012 through 2020, SierCam allegedly billed Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and often not provided as billed to Medicare. The charges allege the Bisongs paid SierCam patients to sign up for medically unnecessary home health services and provided free transportation and covered the copayments and other fees at doctor’s office visits to facilitate their health care fraud scheme. Additionally, the Bisongs created phony medical records to make it appear the services met Medicare’s criteria for reimbursement, according to the indictment.
Charlz and Angela Bisong are both charged with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, six counts of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks.
Conspiracy to commit health care fraud and each of the six counts of health care fraud carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 possible fine, upon conviction. If convicted of conspiracy to pay and receive health care kickbacks, they also face up to five years in federal prison and a possible $25,000 maximum fine.
The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services?Office of Inspector General and Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation. The Stafford and Sugar Land Police Departments assisted in the arrests. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Olson is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Clipped from: https://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=68674
