Medicare Fraud Kingpin Sentenced to 180 Months

Medicare Fraud Kingpin Sentenced to 180 Months

A Louisiana man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a Medicare fraud scheme that netted him over $22.5 million in false claims, officials announced.

Henry Lamont Jones, 37, of Prairieville, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James J. Brady of the Middle District of Louisiana for his involvement in the Medicare scam, which operated from 2004 to 2010.

Jones and his co-conspirators operated multiple durable medical equipment (DME) companies in Louisiana, including McKenzie Healthcare Solutions Inc. and Healthcare 1 LLC. They falsely billed the Medicare program for medical equipment such as leg braces, arm braces, power wheelchairs, and wheelchair accessories.

According to court documents, the companies submitted over $22.5 million in fraudulent claims to the Medicare program, while Jones’ involvement with Unique Health Solution Inc. resulted in over $4.5 million in false claims. Jones was also ordered to pay $13,397,759 in restitution, jointly and severally with his co-defendants.

Jones’ scheme was uncovered by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Louisiana State Attorney General’s Office. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and paying or receiving healthcare kickbacks.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, investigated the case. Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr. praised the efforts of the investigating agencies and prosecutors.

Jones’ 180-month sentence is the latest in a series of high-profile convictions in Medicare fraud cases. The cases were prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana.

The sentences were announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer, U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr., Mike Fields, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Dallas Region for the HHS Office of the Inspector General, Michael Anderson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s New Orleans Division, and James Buddy Caldwell, Louisiana State Attorney General.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant Chief Ben Curtis and Trial Attorneys David Maria, Alex Berlin, and Abigail Taylor of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

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