Man Sentenced for $1.4M Medicare Home Health Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON—A 47-year-old home health company owner has been ordered to prison following his conviction of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Akintunde Oyewale, Richmond, pleaded guilty Feb. 1, 2022.

Tuesday, May 30, U.S. District Judge David Hittner ordered he serve 57 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the defense requested a reduced sentence due to Oyewale’s role as a father and caretaker of his mother. In handing down the sentence, the court noted he had family commitments at the time of the offense and that he committed the conduct over a span of several years involving kickbacks to multiple parties and Medicare patients. Oyewale agreed to pay $1,467,719.92 in restitution to Medicare.

Oyewale operated Grace Healthcare Services LLC through September 2017. At the time of his plea, he admitted to and caused Grace to bill Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and not provided. He also acknowledged to furthering the scheme by unlawfully paying medical clinics for fraudulent home health certifications and unlawfully paying for patient referrals.

Oyewale also failed to keep records. He admitted he failed to produce records following the receipt of a grand jury subpoena. The records were supposed to justify the billed claims. Grace was subject to recoupment for failing to maintain supporting medical records for bills.  

Oyewale admitted to using the fraudulently obtained funds for his personal financial benefit and for the benefit of his family members.

The Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General and FBI conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Abdul Farukhi and AUSA Christian Latham prosecuted the case.