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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Oct. 16 , 2008
INDICTMENT: POWER WHEELCHAIR SCHEME COST MEDICARE MORE THAN $1 MILLION
Other indictments: bank robbery, arson, drug trafficking
WICHITA, KAN. – Rose E. Benson, 55, Mesquite, Texas;
Emmanuel E. Benson, 56, Mesquite, Texas; Linda N. Marshall, 60,
Wichita, Kan.; Bagience E. Ekpo, 50, Garland, Texas; and Venda A.
Brown, 36, Wichita, Kan., are charged with conspiracy to commit health
care fraud and violations of anti-kickback statutes. The crimes are alleged to
have occurred from April 2003 through July 2005.
According to the indictment, Rose Benson and Emmanuel Benson,
owners of Vertex Medical Supplies, Inc., in Garland, Texas, paid the other
defendants to provide them with names of Medicare patients and Medicare
beneficiary numbers. The Bensons used the information to make false and
fraudulent claims to Medicare for power wheelchairs. Linda Marshall,
Bagience Ekpo and Venda Brown obtained information from Medicare
beneficiaries and physicians’ offices by promising to provide patients with
wheelchairs at no cost to them, even though the Medicare reimbursement rate
for a power wheelchair was approximately $4,200. Marshal, Ekpo and
Brown received fees of $400 to $500 from Rose Benson and Emmanuel
Benson for each referral.
The fraudulent claims misrepresented authorization by examining
physicians and the equipment that was delivered. As a result of the scheme,
Medicare received more than $2.1 million in fraudulent claims and made
payments of more than $1 million.
In addition to the health care fraud conspiracy count against all five
defendants, Rose and Emmanuel Benson are charged with 10 counts of health
care fraud, and Rose Benson is charged with two counts of paying kickbacks
for referrals. Upon conviction, the alleged crimes carry the following
penalties:
– Conspiracy to commit health care fraud: A maximum penalty of 5
years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
– Health care fraud: A maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to
$250,000 on each count.
– Paying kickbacks for referrals: A maximum penalty of 5 years and a
fine up to $250,000.
Health and Human Services - the Office of Inspector General
investigated.
OTHER INDICTMENTS
A federal grand jury meeting in Wichita, Kan., Wednesday also
returned the following indictments:
Travis Ryan Klutts, 27, Maize, Kan., was charged with three bank
robberies.
The indictment alleges that Klutts was responsible for robberies:
– Sept. 26, 2008, at Intrust Bank, 13415 W. Maple, Wichita, Kan.
– Oct. 6, 2008, at Intrust Bank, 3707 N. Woodlawn, Wichita, Kan.
– Oct. 10, 2008, at First Bank, 1216 N. Main, Newton, Kan.
In addition, Klutts is charged with two counts of unlawful possession
of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and two counts of unlawful
possession of a firearm after a felony conviction.
Klutts initially was arrested and charged Oct. 10 in a criminal
complaint alleging he committed the bank robbery in Newton.
If convicted, Klutts faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal
prison and a fine up to $250,000 on each bank robbery count, a penalty of not
less than 10 years and not more than life and a fine up to $250,000 on each
count of possessing a firearm in a crime of violence, and a maximum penalty
of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of unlawful possession
of a firearm by a felon.
Agencies that assisted in Klutts’ arrest and the investigation include the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Newton Police Department, the Wichita
Police Department, the Harvey County Sheriff’s Office and the McPherson
County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster is
prosecuting.
Jon Michael Beth, 18, Stark, Kan., is charged with one count of
breaking into a U.S. post office, one count of stealing U.S. Postal Service
property, one count of stealing mail, and one count of setting fire to the post
office in Stark, Kan. The crimes are alleged to have occurred July 30, 2008,
in Neosho County, Kan.
Upon conviction, the alleged crimes carry the following penalties:
– Larceny of a postal facility: A maximum penalty of 5 years in federal
prison and a fine up to $250,000.
– Theft of postal service property: A maximum penalty of 3 years and a
fine up to $250,000.
– Mail theft: A maximum penalty of 5 years in federal prison and a fine
up to $250,000.
– Arson: Not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years and a fine up
to $250,000.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated. Assistant U.S.
Attorney Alan Metzger is prosecuting.
Eric Schrader, 26, Wichita, Kan., is charged with one count of
possession with intent to distribute cocaine. The crime is alleged to have
occurred Aug. 9, 2008, in Sedgwick County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to
$250,000. The Kansas Highway Patrol and the Drug Enforcement
Administration investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst is
prosecuting.
Claudio Orzco-Ortiz, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with unlawfully
re-entering the United States after being convicted of a felony and deported.
He was found Sept. 3, 2008, in Reno County, Kan.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 2 years in federal prison
without parole and a fine up to $250,000. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch is
prosecuting.
As in any criminal case, a person is presumed innocent until and unless
proven guilty. The indictments filed merely contain allegations of criminal
conduct.
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