Michelle Turner, Medicare Fraud, Texas 2023

Convicted Patient Recruiter Faces Up to 25 Years in Prison

A patient recruiter for a Houston durable medical equipment company was convicted of health care fraud related to an arthritis kit scheme. Michelle Turner, 44, of Spring, Texas, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiring to receive illegal kickbacks for referring Medicare beneficiaries, and two counts of receiving illegal kickbacks for referring Medicare beneficiaries.

The scheme, which involved Family Healthcare Services, a Houston-based DME company, resulted in over $1.1 million in fraudulent claims being submitted to Medicare. Turner and her co-conspirators recruited Medicare beneficiaries for the purpose of filing claims for medically unnecessary and/or not provided durable medical equipment, including orthotic devices and arthritis kits.

The arthritis kits, which were billed to Medicare at over $3,000, consisted of multiple orthotic devices and accessories, including heat pads. Turner and her co-conspirators used unsolicited telephone calls to recruit beneficiaries, which is prohibited by Medicare rules.

Turner faces maximum penalties of 10 years in prison for the health care fraud conspiracy count, five years in prison for conspiring to receive illegal kickbacks for referring Medicare beneficiaries, and five years in prison for each count of receiving an illegal kickback for referring a Medicare beneficiary.

The case was prosecuted by the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, the FBI's Houston Field Office, and the HHS Office of the Inspector General.

Turner's sentencing has not been scheduled.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/houston-patient-recruiter-convicted-11-million-medicare-fraud-scheme