Five Massachusetts residents and one New York woman are accused of running a health care fraud scheme to bill health insurance companies for more than $1 million in false medical bills for treatments they allegedly received overseas.
Brendon Ash, 40, of Dorchester, Akila Atherton, 36, of Roxbury, Darrin Cobler, 40, of Randolph, Henry Ezeonyide, 36, of Brockton, Chinenye Noudime, 36, of Brockton, and Ariel Lambert, 34, of Brooklyn, are charged with health care fraud. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release..
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the six defendants are accused of filing false health insurance claims for excessive out-of-pocket medical expenses while traveling outside the U.S. The claims were made to four health insurance companies, and the defendants were hospitalized for injuries sustained in a stabbing, a hit-and-run accident and a shooting.
The defendants are also accused of submitting false records to support their claims, including bank documents showing hospital payments, medical records showing treatment received and police reports detailing incidents in which they were injured, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Some of the false supporting documents were “nearly identical” to the dates, locations and nature of the incidents.
Prosecutors allege the defendants were in the United States at the time they claimed to have been hospitalized overseas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Additionally, some of the defendants were allegedly undergoing unrelated medical procedures in the U.S. at the time they reported receiving treatment outside the United States.
“The defendants allegedly abused the health care system, filing more than $1 million in fabricated insurance claims for injuries that never occurred,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. “This type of fraud is not only illegal, it victimizes all law-abiding individuals by diverting funds from those who truly need help and inflating costs for everyone.”
All six defendants appeared in federal court in Boston and were released on bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The health care fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of probation, and fines of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the crime.
