Home Health Care Owners Indicted for Fraud

A Houston couple is set to appear in federal court on charges they fraudulently billed more than $24 million to Medicare through several home health companies, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Oluyemisi Amos, 35, and her husband Felix Amos, 66, are charged in an eight-count indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud and money laundering.

They are set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson today at 10:00 a.m.

According to the indictment, returned April 5, 2017, the couple took over Advanced Holistic Healthcare Services Inc. in 2011 and allegedly submitted claims to Medicare for home health services for beneficiaries that did not receive any services. Additionally, physicians did not order these services for the beneficiaries, according to the charges.

The indictment alleges the defendants continued the same pattern of fraudulent billing with other companies - Access Practical Solutions, GetUpandWalk Inc. and Guarranty Home Health Agency. As soon as they took ownership of these companies, there was a dramatic increase in the billing for services, some of which had been performed prior to the change in ownership, according to the charges. They would allegedly bill a high volume to Medicare for a short period of time, then stop.

Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, Secret Service and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Texas Attorney General’s Office conducted the joint investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rodolfo Ramirez and Julie Redlinger are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence.

A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.