Unlicensed Medical Professional Convicted for Role in $1.3 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

A federal jury in Houston convicted an unlicensed medical professional who was posing as a physician yesterday for his participation in a $1.3 million Medicare fraud scheme. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas, Special Agent in Charge Perrye K. Turner of the FBI’s Houston Field Office and Special Agent in Charge C.J. Porter of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office made the announcement.
                                             
Rex Duruji, 56, of Houston, was convicted yesterday of one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay healthcare kickbacks and one count of healthcare fraud following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of the Southern District of Texas.  Duruji is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2017.

According to evidence presented at trial, from January 2012 until May 2015, Duruji engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare by posing as a licensed physician, although he did not possess a medical license in the State of Texas.  The evidence presented at trial showed that Duruji posed as a physician to induce Medicare beneficiaries to sign up for fraudulent home-health services with Koby Home Health (Koby) that were not actually provided and paid illegal cash kickbacks to the beneficiaries for those claims.  According to evidence at trial, Medicare paid approximately $1.3 million in false and fraudulent claims for home-health services submitted by Koby.  

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.  Trial Attorneys Scott Armstrong and Kevin Lowell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.