A Texas judge slapped a former medical equipment supplier with more than 12 years in jail and ordered him to repay the nearly $1.5 million he bilked from the government in a scheme to defraud the federal Medicaid insurance program.
A federal grand jury in 2009 indicted Benjamin Essien and his sister, Rose Essien, alleging that they routinely billed Medicaid for equipment they never delivered or delivered short of what they billed for. The indictment also accused the siblings of providing medical supplies to patients that weren’t prescribed or needed.
Between April 2004 and August 2006 the Essiens allegedly filed claims for nearly $1.8 million, ultimately receiving more than $1.1 million from Medicaid, according to the indictment.
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Judge Gray Miller of the U.S. District Court for Southern Texas sentenced Benjamin Essien Dec. 21 to 12 years and 1 month behind bars for his part in the scheme, ordering him and his co-defendants to repay $1.5 million to Medicaid, according to court documents.
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