Fugitive
Leonard Nwafor
Fugitive Status | sentenced |
---|---|
Charges | Conspiracy to commit health care fraud |
Amount of Arrears | $525,000 |
Investigation Details
Leonard Nwafor was captured January 2, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. In the fall of 2008, a jury convicted Nwafor of conspiracy and health care fraud. He was to be sentenced in January 2009, but failed to show up in court.
In March 2010, he was sentenced in absentia to 9 years in Federal prison and ordered to pay back more than $525,000 to Medicare.
Through his durable medical equipment (DME) company, Pacific City Medical Equipment, Nwafor and his co-conspirators billed Medicare for $1.1 million and collected $525,000 in fraudulent claims for DME such as motorized wheelchairs, scooters, and hospital beds for beneficiaries, according to a Federal indictment.
Based in the Los Angeles area, Nwafor used physicians' unique provider identification numbers to bill Medicare for the DME, even though those doctors did not examine Nwafor's clients.
OIG investigated Nwafor as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which was created to identify and prosecute fraudulent Medicare companies and laboratories in the greater Los Angeles area.
- Health Care Fraud