Usman Butt conspired with business partner Muhammad Aamir.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: A Pakistani American, Usman Butt, who is a former owner and manager of two Detroit-area home health care agencies, pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in a $22 million Medicare fraud conspiracy.
Butt, 40, of Shelby Township, Michigan, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman in the Eastern District of Michigan to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and aiding or assisting in preparing a fraudulent tax return on August 27, 2014, and the case was unsealed on Wednesday, October 8th. Sentencing has been scheduled for January 13, 2015. His plea follows that of his former business partner and co-conspirator, Muhammad Aamir, who pleaded guilty on August 20, 2014, according to a press release.
According to plea documents, Butt admitted that beginning in 2008 and continuing through January 2013, he conspired with others to bill Medicare for home health care services that were not actually rendered, not medically necessary, and procured through paying illegal kickbacks.
Specifically, Butt admitted that the physical therapy and skilled nursing services provided by his companies, Prestige Home Health Services Inc., based in Troy, Michigan, and Royal Home Health Care Inc., of Clawson and Troy, Michigan, were not medically necessary or even rendered. Butt also admitted that he fabricated patient files to give the false appearance that the services were medically necessary and actually provided.
During the scheme, Butt submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare, which in turn caused Medicare to pay approximately $12,607,262. According to court records, the conspiracy resulted in the submission of fraudulent claims that caused Medicare to pay more than $22 million. Butt also admitted that he assisted a co-conspirator in filing a false corporate tax return for Prestige, deducting illegal kickbacks as “business expenses” to save Prestige at least $321,485 in taxes due for 2009.
This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and IRS-CI, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Niall M. O’Donnell and James P. McDonald of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged nearly 2,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $6 billion
2 Comments
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/44-charged-in-huge-medicare-fraud-scheme/comment-page-2/?apage=5
Another immigrant committing crime. Look up HHS OIG Most Wanted.