(WXYZ) — The Department of Justice has charged 23 Michigan residents for their alleged involvement in two schemes to defraud Medicare of more than $61.5 million, according to court documents unsealed this week.
According to the feds, the two schemes involved paying kickbacks and bribes, and billing Medicare for unnecessary medical services that were never provided.
In the first case, United States v. Jamil, the feds allege Walid Jamil, 62, and Jalal Jamil, 69, owned and operated several home health agencies in metro Detroit and concealed their ownership using straw owners. The feds say they submitted about $50 million in fraudulent home healthcare claims to Medicare.
According to the feds, Walid and Jalal allegedly paid bribes to other co-conspirators to recruit patients, violating the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute, and those patients didn't need home health care or quality for it.
The feds say Walid and Jalal received more than $43 million from Medicare which were misappropriated for their personal benefit.
“The alleged actions of these defendants is an astonishing abuse of our health care system,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan. “By allegedly submitting fraudulent claims and paying illegal kickbacks, these defendants looted Medicare in order to line their own pockets at great cost to taxpayers. My office is grateful for the continued work of the Health Care Fraud Strike Force to root out corrupt medical professionals.”
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