Houston dental clinic employee convicted in $6M bribery scheme
HOUSTON - A 54-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to pay and receive health care kickbacks, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced.
Ifeanyi Ozoh was found guilty on Feb. 14 after a federal jury deliberated for one hour following a three-day trial. U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane ordered Ozoh to serve six years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and to pay $4.9 million in restitution to Medicaid.
Evidence presented in court showed that Ozoh, an employee at Floss Family Dentalcare Center, bribed marketers and parents to bring Medicaid-insured children to the clinic.
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Ozoh worked at the clinic between January 2020 and February 2021. The U.S. Attorney's Office claims during his time there, he paid marketers $20 to $100 for each child they referred to Floss, often using secretive methods to avoid being seen, including placing cash payments on top of a vending machine near the clinic.
Testimony at the trial revealed Ozoh paid more than $163,000 and received bonuses for reaching a quota of patients. The court heard that Floss billed Medicaid over $6 million during the scheme, with mopre than $4 million received for claims, many of which were based on fraudulent referrals and services that were never provided.
A clinic manager testified she warned Ozoh repeatedly about the illegality of paying marketers.
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Under Medicaid regulations, paying kickbacks for referrals is illegal.
Ozoh remains out on bond and will surrender to the Bureau of Prisons at a later date.
The FBI, Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn Olson and Lauren Valenti prosecuted.