Criminal Investigative Updates

Chintan Anjaria, of India, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. From February 2017 to May 2022, Anjaria participated in a kickback and bribery scheme with orthotic brace supply companies, telemedicine companies, and testing laboratories, resulting in the submission of false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. He controlled a marketing company in India through which he and his conspirators identified Medicare beneficiaries to target for orthotic braces and cancer genetic tests. Employees of the company called beneficiaries and pressured them to agree to accept orthotic braces and/or tests, regardless of medical necessity. Anjaria and his company paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies to obtain doctor’s orders for the orthotic braces and tests. In total, Anjaria and his conspirators caused a loss to federal healthcare programs of more than $11.5 million. The VA OIG participated in this multiagency investigation.

Kareem Memon, of Coral Springs, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Memon and his conspirators owned and operated marketing call centers and telemedicine companies through which they obtained doctors’ orders for durable medical equipment (DME) for Medicare beneficiaries. Memon and his conspirators provided doctors’ orders in exchange for bribes from DME companies. The conspirators caused losses to Medicare in excess of $11 million. The VA OIG, the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and the Department of Defense OIG Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated this case. 

Raheel Naviwala, of Coral Springs, Florida, was charged for his role in a durable medical equipment (DME) kickback scheme that caused $97 million in losses to Medicare. Naviwala and his conspirators owned and operated multiple call centers through which they obtained doctors’ orders for DME without regard to medical necessity. They provided these orders in exchange for bribes, receiving more than $46 million in kickbacks. The case was investigated by the VA OIG, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Adam Wayne Owens of Riverside, California, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Owens owned and operated multiple marketing companies through which he and his conspirators identified and targeted elderly patients for at-home cancer genetic testing. From November 2018 to January 2020, he and his conspirators sent unwanted and unnecessary testing kits to beneficiaries, and when the tests were returned, Owens submitted the claims for reimbursement to Medicare. In exchange, his companies received kickback payments ranging from $1,700 to $2,000 for each test resulting in Medicare reimbursement. Owens and his conspirators allegedly caused a loss of approximately $10 million to Medicare. The VA OIG, FBI, HHS OIG, and DOD OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated this case.

Keaton Langston, of Booneville, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Langston owned, operated, had financial interests in, or was affiliated with pharmacies, medical equipment companies, and a laboratory that he used to defraud healthcare benefit programs by paying kickbacks and bribes in exchange for doctors’ orders. As part of the scheme, these companies billed Medicare and other benefit programs approximately $51 million. Langston received approximately $10 million from these reimbursements. The total loss to VA was approximately $330,000. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, FBI, HHS OIG, and Department of Defense OIG, Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Kareem Memon, of Coral Springs, Florida, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar durable medical equipment kickback scheme. Memon and his conspirators owned and operated marketing call centers and telemedicine companies through which they obtained doctors’ orders for equipment for Medicare beneficiaries without regard to medical necessity. They provided these doctors’ orders in exchange for bribes from durable medical equipment companies. The scheme caused more than $11 million in losses to Medicare. This sentencing also included a previous guilty plea to wire fraud, money laundering, and felon in possession charges, related to fraudulent applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling more than $451,000. The case was investigated by the VA OIG, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services OIG, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Tefylon Cameron, of Powder Springs, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute. Cameron and her conspirators owned and operated  durable medical equipment companies through which they obtained doctors’ orders for Medicare beneficiaries without regard to medical necessity. The conspirators also owned and operated a clinical guidance exchange company through which Cameron agreed to provide a clinical laboratory with leads of beneficiaries qualified to receive federal healthcare benefits for cancer genetic tests. Cameron submitted invoices to the clinical laboratory on a per-lead basis but entered into a sham agreement to disguise kickback and bribe payments. The scheme caused a loss to Medicare of more than $14.9 million. The VA OIG, the FBI, the Health and Human Services OIG, the DoD OIG, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated this case.      

Adam Wayne Owens, of Riverside, California, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. From November 2018 to January 2020, Owens participated in a kickback and bribery scheme with testing companies that arranged for at-home cancer genetic tests. Owens owned and controlled marketing companies through which he and his conspirators identified Medicare beneficiaries to target for testing. Owens and his conspirators provided personal and medical information about the Medicare beneficiaries to the testing companies, which caused testing kits to be sent to the beneficiaries. Once the tests were completed and returned, Owens’ conspirators submitted claims for reimbursement to Medicare. Owens’ companies received kickback payments ranging from $1,700 to $2,000 for each test resulting in Medicare reimbursement. The VA OIG, FBI, and Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service investigated this case.

Raheel Naviwala, of Coral Springs, Florida, was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, and violating the Anti-Kickback Statute. Naviwala and his coconspirators purchased contact lists of Medicare patients’ and hired telemarketers to convince the patients to get orthotic braces. These telemarketers pre-filled prescriptions and picked the highest-paying braces to bill to insurers. Naviwala then paid telemedicine doctors to sign the pre-filled prescriptions for braces, regardless of medical necessity. Naviwala sold the signed prescriptions to durable medical equipment supply companies that could bill insurers for the braces. Medicare and insurers paid at least approximately $100 million for the durable medical equipment associated with Naviwala’s companies. The loss to VA was $330,000. Naviwala personally pocketed more than $10 million in fraud proceeds. This case was investigated by the VA OIG, FBI, HHS-OIG, and DCIS.

Ahmed Hassan, of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, was convicted of 22 counts of wire fraud after defrauding the VA of nearly $1 million over seven years. Hassan was a supervisory engineer at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center responsible for the center’s HVAC systems and related maintenance contracts. From approximately 2013 through October 2017, Hassan schemed to defraud the VA by drafting and submitting false invoices for payment from HT Mechanical, a shell company he owned and secretly set it up with Lynn Hanrahan—a social worker who had no expertise in HVAC systems. The VA OIG and the FBI investigated the case.