Medicare Fraud Scheme Leads to 15-Years Prison in for Owner of Louisiana Medical Equipment Companies

Louisiana resident Henry Lamont Jones, who owns multiple durable medical equipment (DME) companies, has been sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for participating in a number of Medicare fraud schemes, according to the Justice Department. Mr. Jones has also been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $13,397,759, jointly and severally with his convicted co-conspirators.

Louisiana Man Must Pay Over $13 Million In Restitution For Medicare Fraud.

Between 2004 and 2010, Mr. Jones’s various DME companies — including McKenzie Healthcare Solutions Inc., Lifeline Healthcare Services Inc., Rose Medical Equipment Inc., Healthcare 1 LLC and Medical 1 Patient Services Inc. — filed false claims against Medicare for DME that were not medically necessary or were not actually provided. Mr. Jones used patient recruiters to acquire personal information on Medicare beneficiaries and prescriptions for DME such as arm braces, leg braces, power wheel chairs and wheel chair accessories. Mr. Jones then used the beneficiary information and prescriptions to submit false claims to the Medicare program.

Mr. Jones also worked as a patient recruiter for another healthcare provider, Unique Health Solution Inc., for which he was convicted of healthcare fraud after a jury trial in August 2011. Unique Medical Solution submitted over $4.5 million in false claims to Medicare while Mr. Jones was a patient recruiter for the company.

In November 2011, another jury found Mr. Jones guilty of Medicare fraud for his actions as the owner and operator of MacKenzie Healthcare Solutions Inc., one of his DME companies. After the conviction, Mr. Jones pleaded guilty to charges of Medicare fraud related to his other Louisiana DME companies. While Mr. Jones was operating these companies, they submitted over $22.5 million in false claims to Medicare.

Whistleblowers Play Important Role In Enforcing False Claims Act.

Whistleblowers help federal authorities enforce the False Claims Act and recover money that is obtained from the government through fraud. The False Claims Act provides a mechanism for whistleblowers to file a qui tam lawsuit against a person or company for committing fraud against the government. The whistleblower is then entitled to share with the government in any money recovered.