A former Kentucky man received over a year in prison and must pay restitution for fraudulently billing Medicare for unnecessary medical equipment.
A former Kentucky man was sentenced to over one year in prison for engaging in a conspiracy to commit health care fraud and money laundering in connection with his durable medical equipment (DME) businesses.
According to court documents, Shafi Abbas, 57, formerly of Pendleton, Kentucky, was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and three counts of money laundering.
Abbas, through his companies, Aidmen Medical Equipment LLC and Justright Medical Equipment LLC, fraudulently billed Medicare for durable medical equipment, which was “medically unnecessary, unwanted by patients, and not prescribed by the patients’ medical providers,” according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office, Western District of Kentucky. Abbas further transferred funds, in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000, which came from specified unlawful activity, specifically the health care fraud conspiracy.
The announcement was made by US Attorney Michael A Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, special agent in charge Michael E Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office, and special agent in charge Tamala Miles of the United States Department for Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Atlanta Regional Office.
There is no parole in the federal system. Abbas was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,333,722.21. This case was investigated by the FBI and HHS.
Assistant US Attorney Joe Ansari prosecuted the case.
ID 143558745 © Khwaneigq | Dreamstime.com
