Texas woman pleads guilty in wheelchair fraud scheme
Compliance Monitor, October 31, 2007
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A Houston woman, Sharon Thomas, pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in a wheelchair fraud scheme. She was the owner of S&L Personal Care, and admitted to buying prescriptions for wheelchairs from physicians and then soliciting Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to receive wheelchairs.
Thomas bought prescriptions for $200 and sold them to durable medical equipment (DME) companies for $1,100. The DME companies then used the fraudulent prescriptions to bill Medicare and Medicaid. She could face up to 10 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000 for her two felony convictions.
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