North Carolina DME Provider to Serve 80 Months in Prison for Fraud

RALEIGH, North Carolina—The CEO of two North Carolina durable medical equipment (DME) companies has been sentenced to 80 months in prison for health care fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Tanya Grant, 51, was sentenced for a fraud scheme carried out between 2017 and 2021 through two companies she controlled: Carolina Rehab Products Inc. (CRP), also known as Atlantic Brace, in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Blue File DME, LLC, in Dunn. These companies were licensed to supply DME such as neck and back braces to Medicare beneficiaries. Grant pled guilty to the charge on July 6, 2022.

“This defendant was motivated by greed, scheming to steal millions in taxpayer dollars meant for senior citizens and the needy,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “She used her fraud to fuel her lavish lifestyle, including a vacation home, luxury cars, jewelry, and a boat. Health care fraud like this costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year. We will use every avenue to root it out and bring offenders to justice.” 

The investigation showed that Grant purchased lists of Medicare patient names from companies overseas, then billed Medicare for purportedly supplying these patients with durable medical equipment. In many cases, Medicare was billed even though no equipment was shipped. Medicare was also billed by Grant’s companies for supplying medical equipment to 422 dead people. When audited by Medicare contractors, the evidence showed that Grant forged physician orders if no such order existed in her files to support her billings.

CRP and Blue File billed Medicare for more than $50 million in durable medical equipment between 2014 and 2021, and Grant received more than $17 million of that. She reportedly used these funds to purchase a home in Raleigh, a townhome in Florida, a Porsche, several Range Rovers, several Jeeps, boat, jewelry, art, and electronics, as well as amassing more than a million dollars in cash and investments. These assets have been seized by the government.